My Heart and Blood
by beautiful-surreal
Summary: Bumlets meets a girl who is more than she seems..she can soak the Delancys in 2 seconds, she has a talent nobody has ever heard of, and soon enough, she starts to rock his world... READ & REVIEW
1. Her Love

A/N: Disclaimer- I do not own the movie or it's characters. Just my own and the story line.

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"Hey, Healah!" Blink shouted over the noise of the crowd at the Irving Hall to get my attention. "We need ya!" I finished my straightforward box into one of the policemen's noses, and glanced up to see where Blink was standing. The crowd was jostling him, but he managed to direct my attention towards where Jack had been caught by the bulls, and being carried down the staircase. My face paled. It seemed that the rally didn't go so well, and my knees started to weaken at the thought, but I shook myself out of it firmly. I was here for a reason.

I turned around, and started to punch my way towards where I saw Bumlets and Boots last, and sure enough, there they were, fighting back-to-back in a corner. Thank god they chose a corner. I growled, and bared my teeth as I forced my way over to them, and finally, I pushed my way out between two men, and stumbled to a firm footing in front of them. They startled at my sudden appearance, but I shook my head, pulling out my necklace bead.

The boys took one look at that, and they knew what was happening, shoving me behind them, fending off anyone who came my way. They knew I needed to focus for this. I sat down in the corner, and I breathed, tuning out all that was going on around me. I felt at peace, and I drew up power from the earth below me, the air around me- and from the rampant, hot, so-called 'useless' energy that my friends' fighting bodies emitted as they moved, leaving them with a feeling of coolness as I took the energy away. I gathered all this in a pool in front of me, seen only by me and by those who knew how to see it. I would need a lot for what I was going to do.

In a part of my mind, I was aware that Blink had managed to work himself over to where we were, and was helping Boots and Bumlets fight off the crowd. In a bit of foresight, and with a hint of reluctance, I told Bumlet to come over to me and to hold me upright in case something happened. He glanced over at me. I hadn't said a word, but he knew what I had asked. He glanced warily around, and ducked behind the fighting line to sit behind me. Blink and Boots filled the gap instantly, and Bumlets wrapped his arms around my stomach gently, lovingly, and I felt a rush of affection for him, which I'm sure he felt, since he had body contact with me, but I needed to work.

I centered into the place where I could see the pulsating pool of energy, and I knew in the back of my mind that Bumlets could see it too, and he felt amazed. I smiled bitterly. He was going to have to get ready for the ride of his life. I set my mind forward.

And I surged. I felt myself move through time and space like an underwater river in the sea, or like a current of air in the sky. I surged towards Jack Kelly, and as I did, every newsie shot up like a spot of gold in my sight, and I picked them up to go along with me, starting with those closest to me- and I found Jack Kelly. He was out of it, being carried by the bulls towards the door- but he was awake. Good. I needed that. I surrounded him an aura of gold light, and I felt the energy drain instantly, pulling me back with a painful jerk, but I had to keep going, to find the rest of the newsies.

I felt Bumlets behind me hug me a little tighter, and I knew he was worried about me, and I felt sad for him, but I couldn't stop. I needed to find the rest of the newsies and get us all to a safer place.

Soon I had them all lit up, and my energy was nearly all taken, and I felt so frail. I only had a spark left. I knew- and I felt- Bumlets behind me, and I could feel that he was very intensely worried about me now. He was also worried about all of ours' safety.

That sparked something in me. There were two sparks, dancing together. Determination. Another, softer spark joined the mix, followed by a few others. Love, tenderness, affection- love again, followed by loving joy. Seven sparks.

Again, my determination jumped to the front, and with my six last sparks, I catapulted myself, my friends- and my one true love- Bumlets, or as I knew him, Michael Patrick Johnson Junior- my love- I threw all of them to safety. Except for me. I went with them, but I left my life behind.

That was how much I loved them.

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**Bumlet's POV**

Before we even landed, I could tell she was gone. My one love. My true love. She was gone! My eyes started to sting and grow hot as the pain in my chest grew stronger and wrenched at my heart. I don't know why, but I opened my mouth to try and get rid of some of this pain. Healer was gone.

I landed with a rolling thump on a somewhat hard surface, which was cushioned by long grass, and I never let go of her. I was crying, and I didn't try to stop it. My heart was being torn out. My one love, my true love is-is…gone…dead. I closed my eyes, even though in my state, I couldn't see out of them anyways. My love…Healer…Hana.

I started to shake from the pain, and I held her to me, softer, closer. I had somehow ended up against a tree, and I used its support gratefully now as I pulled Hana further up into my lap. It hurt. I loved her, and now she was gone.

"Bumlets!" I heard Mush and Blink's voices calling for me from a distance away, and I didn't respond. I couldn't. I buried my face in Hana's neck. Into her body's neck.

"Bumlets!"

"Bumlets!" That was Davey boy. He was closer, and I heard feet walking clumsily closer to me, the tall grass rustling around him in the dark. Suddenly, the feet stopped, close by, in a shocked sort of way. The crickets chirped and the silence was sharp, and the only sounds were of the crickets and of my tears.

"B-bum..?" Davey. His voice cut through the night, and there was a scared question in his voice, as if he didn't really want to know the truth. I looked up, still shaking, my face tearstained and chilled by a slight breeze of the night. I couldn't really see his face through the blur of my tears and the night, but I blinked away my tears, and soon I could see him.

Dave's face showed shock, surprise, pain and sadness as he looked at me. He fell to his knees, shaking, his fists clenched and loosed, and he had the look of a man who no longer knew what to do.

"DAVE!" Blink and Mush's voice melded into one in a panic as they saw Dave go down, and I could hear them running up this way. I closed my eyes and rested my head back against the tree. I felt worn out and overwhelmingly sad, and I pulled Healer back up against me. I could hear Blink and Mush coming up through the sounds of the night, and opened my eyes again, after a fresh flow of tears warmed my cheeks, when I felt them get close, and I looked miserably over in their direction when they halted suddenly, just as Dave had. Their eyes widened and their mouths opened. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Hana was dead. After all she had done for us, and for everyone else. She had always been the one who saved us when we fell.

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A/N: Oooooooh, I am EVIL! Well, don't worry, I'll update as soon as I can figure out how.


	2. Before

A/N: Don't own the movie.

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A Few Years Earlier…

A young woman who looked like she was in her mid-teens strode through the streets of Manhattan confidently. She was dressed like a boy, and she walked like she owned the place- so the only reason passersby knew that she was a girl was because of her feminine features, and her obviously endowed chest. She was followed by either wolf-whistles or scorn, or just general confusion wherever she went. She didn't care though. She was the toughest woman in New York- and she was a newsie.

The sun was shining in early spring, and she got to the distribution office in Manhattan a little later than she usually did, and the 'boys' were already there, but she didn't care. For some reason, she felt good today. Maybe it was because the sun was shining, or maybe it was because she woke up easily this morning before she was forced up by the cook who let her sleep above the café she owned because she liked her. Or maybe it was because of the boy who had whistled at her as she left the building. She knew the boy half-well, but was never really bothered to get to know him better. She knew he was safe though. Otherwise, she would've taken care of him.

She walked up to the gate, and waited a little way apart from the crowd of boys waiting by the gate, because she knew that they had a tendency to stink. She didn't know when their…'wash day' was, because she didn't know them personally. She leaned casually against a brick wall with her shoulder, and her hip stuck out because she felt like it, and just as she did so, she heard a drawling voice from behind her.

"Well, hello luscious…" She sighed and rolled her eyes. Oscar Delancey just never knew who not to bug. She put her ears to work right away to find out where the kid was coming from, and where he was. Behind her, on her right. "…what do you think about snuggling up with me, little girl?" She rolled her eyes. He was on her right. In a moment, she noticed that all the boys that had been just milling about the gate before, were now watching her. She smiled at them with a glint in her eye, and pushed away from the wall.

She shot her right fist out and punched Oscar in the cheekbone and temple a few seconds after his last comment without even looking at him, and instantly spun around on the heel of her right foot to catch Oscar's brother and shadow, Morris- in the groin with the heel of her other foot. When he was bending over, she stepped on Oscar's stomach where he had fallen over from the first punch, and she used that leverage to knee Morris in the forehead, effectively knocking him out, and getting Oscar to lose his breakfast and air at the same time.

The gates opened, and so she left Oscar and Morris lying on the ground, one out cold, the other puking his guts out while trying to breathe- and the sea of boys in front of her stared her with wide eyes and gaping mouths. She smiled at them and tipped her head to one side.

"What? Not used ta seeing a goil fight?" The boys mostly just shook their heads, but one kid did pipe up, and she looked at him. He was robust young man with slightly thick eyebrows, lovely black hair, brown eyes and angular features. She blinked. He had an expression on his face that spoke of both admiration and disbelief.

"How'd ya do dat so fast?" he asked. The young woman smiled, and the young man relaxed under it.

"Practice." She said simply, and she moved forward as the bell rang to tell the newsies to get their papes for selling, and she slapped a dime down on the counter. "50." Mr. Wisely gave her the papes, no problem. They had a sort of silent agreement not to aggravate each other. It worked well for both of them. She picked up the papes and propped them up on her hip, and trotted down the steps to sit on the last one to check out the headlines, draping the rest of them across her leg and pinning them down with her elbow. Front page. Assassination. Some General she never heard of. Good headline. She checked the rest of them. Some were good, quite a few were deadlights though. Terrible.

The boy from earlier came down the stairs and sat next to her. Black hair and brown eyes. He looked at her silently. After a minute, she had had enough.

"What's ya name, kid?" she said, not looking at him.

"What's yours?" She looked at him and stared at him for a while like she was only just seeing him, with one eyebrow slightly raised.

"I asked first." The boy smiled wryly.

"Bumlets." The girl nodded her head.

"M'name's Healah." She said, going back to her papes. Bumlets turned his head and put his chin in his hand, watching her, his brow furrowed.

"Why ya called that?"

"I heal people, my friends." She stated, and turned to look at him, as if daring him to laugh. Bumlets leaned back against the wall behind him, propping one leg out in front of him. "Why ya called Bumlets?" His face lit up in a brilliant smile, the brown in his eyes really coming out when he laughed a little.

"Ya don't wanna know. Trust me."

"**Oi! Stop hangin' about! Sell ya papes! Sell ya papes!"** Mr. Wiseley shouted, and as if united by a common enemy, Bumlets and Healah smiled at each other with a little laugh and a shake of their heads, picked up their papes, and went their separate ways.

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A/N: So they're getting to know each other. Aren't they darling? READ & REVIEW please! Reviews are a writer's motivation, you know...


	3. Healer

**A/N:** I don't own the movie. I don't know if I got the description of Central Park right, but we soon find out why Bumlets is so interested in this girl he had never noticed before.

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Healer stood on her street corner, using her natural attractiveness to persuade most men to buy her papes and a peck on the cheek, or she smiled gently or willed them to buy her papes by imagining them doing so in her mind. It did the trick. Before she knew it, she managed to sell all her 50 papes just with the front-page headline. She didn't even have to go elsewhere. It had reached about midday when she sold her last paper, and it was getting hot where she was standing, so she wiped the sweat off her forehead from the hot midday sun, and made her way over to Central Park.

It was a huge park, where she was going, and most people saw it as a random bit of countryside in the middle of the city, with lovely big trees, soft grass that grew longer in the cooler months, a small lake and lots of shade. It was the only place in the city where you could really see the stars. She walked towards the park, and when she stepped onto the soft grass, she relished the change from pavement to grass, and she stopped to take a deep, fresh, clean breath of cool air and walked further in. She found her favorite tree after a few minute's walk, and she sat and leaned against it, resting before lunch.

"HEY! Ya lousy, stinkin' scab!" A somewhat familiar voice sounded from a few dozen feet away, on the other side of her tree. It sounded like a fight, and there was another voice, younger than her friend's, and he sounded like he was getting hurt. The other four voices were the Delancy brothers, having apparently recovered from their little encounter with her earlier, and two other voices she didn't recognize, older. She pushed herself to her feet, and walked confidently around the tree.

There was Bumlets fighting against four older guys, trying to protect a smaller, black boy, who was being shaken by the two others he wasn't fighting, and they both looked injured, though the scabs didn't get away unpunished. The dirty blonde scab she didn't recognize had blood coming out of his mouth from the punch Bumlets just threw at him, the other dark-haired one had a bruise forming on his cheekbone, and Oscar and Morris were still looking weak from the morning's encounter, but still they were fighting. Oscar was holding the black kid in the air, and was getting his legs kicked and arms twisted as the small one struggled, and Morris was bent double from where he had the wind knocked out of him.

I stood casually in front of the fight, observing how the fight was going. It was going worse for my friends, so I decided to intervene.

"Well 'ello boys…" I drawled lazily, and the Delancey brothers looked up hastily, though the others kept fighting. "Have ya not learned ya lesson?" I strolled forward as the others kept fighting, though I saw Bumlets throw a glance over in my direction, to match my face to my name, and nearly got punched in the eye for it. He now had the little kid on his feet, and they were both fighting. The Delancey brothers glared at me, but didn't move forward. I moved forward and stroked Oscar's jaw teasingly, and I smiled a little. Oscar grinned. "Don't make me angry." A look of confusion shot across Oscar's face as my smile turned into a fierce scowl as my hand left his chin balling into a fist- and pushing from the ground- punching him in the chest. The fight began again.

I managed to hit many people, none of them felt like friends though, so I just sank into my fighting trance, letting my body and fighting knowledge take care of me while I extended my field perception outwards. This told me where everyone was, like I was hovering slightly above the ground, watching myself fight- and my fighting knowledge told my body what to do to counter the attacks, and my body reacted.

Finally, the scabs had had enough, and either ran away, or dragged along one of the others who couldn't run, and I slowly let my body come to a halt, and I stood there silently, looking towards the ground, waiting until my consciousness fully settled in again and for my fighting instincts to settle. Then I looked up and around for my friends.

There they were. Bumlets was resting against the side of my favorite tree, holding his hand up to his left eye, grimacing, and his right forearm looked pretty badly bruised, judging by the mark on it and the way he held it. Ouch. _That looks painful…_ I thought as I walked over towards them, wincing in sympathy. Bumlets looked up as I walked towards him, winced in greeting, and looked back down again. His friend, the black boy was lying on his back on the grass, trying to keep the pressure away from his ribs. I glanced at Bumlets and decided to look after his friend first, who had his eyes closed and his face showed some pain.

I centered myself as I walked to him, and I grounded, drawing up some energy from the earth when I kneeled next to him. I leaned over so I was sitting with my legs to my side, and I put my left hand on the ground, using that as a quick way to draw up energy, and I held my right hand a few inches over the middle of the kid's chest, closing my eyes. I sent my gathered energy into his chest, and I 'looked' around to see what was wrong with him. He had two broken ribs and a few bruised. No wonder he was in pain. I set to work putting the bones back into place, and I set them to healing quicker than usual, and I lessened the pain around them. To get rid of the pain completely was just morally wrong in this case. Leaving them tender was sending signals to his brain to be careful.

I pulled away from him, opening my eyes, and I looked at the kid. He had his eyes open now, and he was looking at me in wonder and gratification. I smiled at him, and turned to face Bumlets, and smiled wider. He was looking at me in amazement, one hand still covering his eye, the other wide, and his mouth slightly open. I moved myself closer to him.

"You- you-" he stuttered in surprise, looking at me.

"Shh…" I soothed, and I turned him around so that his head was resting on my leg, and he just lay there, not knowing what to do, his hand still over his eye. His friend was sitting up now, slightly pained, but was watching us interact curiously.

Bumlet's hair was so smooth, so soft and silky, even though it needed a wash, and I just stroked it with my left hand, drawing up energy through my bum, and I gently caressed his chin and his cheek with my right hand, sensing his tension, and telling his body to rest, and he relaxed, his face letting go of any hard facial expression requiring muscles, leaving looking peaceful. His hand slipped away from his eyes, and my instincts made me make a sound of a sad croon as I saw how badly his eye was hurt, and allowing my instincts to guide me, I placed my right hand on his temple, next to his bruised, purple and black eye. He looked up into my eyes just as I was closing them, and the image of his lovely brown eye stayed for a few seconds in the front of my mind, before I sent it to the back, sending the healing energy I had gathered into his eyes. I could feel Bumlets close his other eye, trusting me completely.

I saw the state of his eye as a complete mass of pain and other things that shouldn't be there. His eyeball was affected, so I immediately set to fixing that, putting his eye into it's proper shape and getting rid of the fluids that shouldn't be there by leaking it out between his eyelids. Once that was fixed, that was pretty much everything, though I took away the general pain of the leftover bruise and sent it into the earth. As I usually did with the more serious injuries of my friends, I leaned over until I was a few inches away from him, and I dropped an imaginary kiss onto his eye without touching him, and I straightened back up. With my eyes closed still, I ran my hand lightly over his shoulder, across his chest, and I followed his right arm down past the bruise site which I didn't touch, and close to the wrist, I slid my hand under his arm and lifted it a little closer to me.

That hurt him a little, my moving it, and I was sorry that I caused him pain, and I tried to tell him so by stroking his forehead softly with my other hand, and he relaxed again. I gently laid his arm across his chest, and relaxed his hand, sending my energy into his arm. This pain was caused by the normal function of his blood taking care of a smacked muscle. It was very busy here, as it seemed that this muscle was smacked very hard. I set about helping out, and soon enough, he and I had the muscle soothed, and only a dull ache remained there, and if the muscle actually had an individual personality, it would've been somewhat grumpy then. I smiled, and withdrew, very tired. Healing sometimes took the energy right out of me, leaving me in a desperate need for sleep.

I opened my eyes as I yawned, and I saw Bumlet's beautiful brown eyes looking up into my tired eyes thankfully. I couldn't stay awake, and the last thing I saw was those eyes looking concerned.

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**A/N: **Ever been healed before? What Healer has done here is what is called Reiki. Look it up, and you'll find that it actually exists.


	4. Bumlets

**A/N: **I don't own the movie.

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**Bumlets' POV**

Boots and I were selling relatively close to each other today for some reason, and so I thought it would be a clever idea to sell with him, and when he agreed, I balanced him standing on my shoulders, since he was actually quite light for someone his age. He was pretty much all air in my opinion, and very well balanced. So I walked about the place with him on my shoulders, attracting a curious crowd, selling the papes very quickly. He sold his, and I sold mine a little harder, for it was hard to move my shoulders without knocking him off, but we got there eventually, and we earned a little more by doing some tricks afterwards, including him balancing upside down on my hands with his, leaving him suspended in the air quite precariously. Together, we both made about six dollars each. A very good working day today.

"'Ey, Boots, 'ow about we go ta da park befoah lunch?" I asked him suddenly as the idea struck me, looking down at him. He looked up at me, thinking. He shrugged.

"Doesn' sound so bad. Let's go." He said, and abruptly started walking towards the park, leaving me behind. I watched him for a few seconds, then laughed softly, shaking my head. He was like that sometimes. Boots turned around and looked back at me.

"'Ey, what'cha waitin' for, Bum?" I laughed and shook my head and ran after him, and we both ran all the way to the park, laughing.

~*~*~*~*~*~

She was there. Healer was. It was just amazing that she was here when we needed her. I had just glanced over my shoulder to see if the face matched the voice I recognized, all hot and sweating, and I stupidly left myself open and punishable- as I discovered when Blondie brought his heel down on my upraised arm in a surprising roundhouse kick, painfully pushing it out of the action as I tried to both deflect it and get away from it. I couldn't really use it anymore with hurting it, so I left it by my side, using it only when I had to.

Boots and I had just gotten to the park, when I suddenly noticed Boots wasn't there. That scared me. So I had gone to look for him, and found these four beating him up. That made me very angry. Boots could fight, but he was just a little kid! So that's when I had gotten involved.

I went rigid for a second when I saw her caress Oscar's chin with one hand, and that's when I got hit in the eye. I was out. I couldn't fight like that, with one eye taken out, and so I ducked out, my good hand protecting my eye, walking backwards. I was being careful of where I was stepping, and I only turned when I spotted Healer taking care of Blondie. I grinned as well as I could. _Good girl._ Seems like that little caress was just a decoy, or a- God! My face hurt! I found a tree, and slid down it, groaning. I hadn't been hurt this bad since I joined the newsies a few years back, and that was only because I was young and lost at the time. I bent my knee and balanced my elbow on it, holding my hand to my face, as if that would stop the pain. Boots somehow managed to come over sometime during the fight, struggling, his arm cradling his ribs gently. So he was hurt too. I couldn't believe those scabbers. That was why I hated them so much. Beating up kids younger than themselves. Idiots.

A little time passed, and I grew used to the sounds of the fighting, so I didn't really notice when it slowed to a stop and silence, I wasn't truly aware of much other than my eye and my arm. Though suddenly, I did, and I jerked my head up to see Healer just standing there with her head down, but the jerk caused both my arm and my eye to throb, so I looked back down, where it seemed that the pain hurt less, and I didn't look up again until I heard her walking towards us. I looked up at her and winced in greeting before looking back down. I listened, and I heard her stop and look at both of us, before she went over to sit by Boots. I turned my body around to look at her through my good eye, and I watched her become very still and quiet, one hand on the ground, the other in her lap, her eyes half-closed. Then she put her right hand over him and almost invisibly, he started to glow! I gaped in wonder. Healer…so that's why she was called that! When she put her hand over him, it seemed as though a life-green color rose up from him, and he seemed to just go limp.

Boots…he- seemed to relax as she paid attention to him, and I noticed with a trace of repulsion that his ribs seemed to shift a little while the light seemed to intensify there. He was completely relaxed under Healer's hold, and it left me wondering. What did it feel like? Boots slowly opened his eyes when he was still under the light, and he slowly started to smile. I just watched him, and what she was doing to him, my hand still covering my eye. A few more moments passed, and the glow seemed to dim, and she opened her eyes, looking at him, and when he smiled up at her, she smiled in return. That was amazing! What she did to him.

She turned to look at me, and she just smiled wider at what must have been an amazed look on my face.

"You-you-" I stuttered, and I cursed myself for doing so. Now I seemed stupid. Then I wondered why I felt that.

"Shh…" she soothed, pushing herself over closer to me, and couldn't help but pay attention to her. She did seem to soothe me, and I was incredibly aware of how close she was to me, and I didn't want her to go away. I don't know why, but I felt this deep inside me. Something felt right. I felt I recognized her the first time I saw her, but I knew I had never seen her before, and I looked at her with tenderness in my eye. No one was making fun of us, so I felt safe with her there.

She pushed gently at my shoulder and so I turned so my back was to her, and she pulled my shoulders back and down, so I lay down. She guided my head down, and she rested me on her leg. I tensed. My head was on her thigh, and she was stroking my hair. I didn't think that was right. I mean- her _thigh_. That was a little intimate.

I still had my hand over my eye, and I watched her face as she put her soft hand on my chin and smoothed her hand to my cheekbone. Her hand was so soft, and neither sweaty or too dry. I felt myself relaxing under her touch, and I let my hand slip away from my eye, my other half-closing. I heard her croon, and I felt safe for the first true time in my life. I felt as if- I knew that nothing could hurt me while I was with her, and the pain in my eye and in my arm was the furthest thing from my mind. I didn't really feel it anymore, it was just a dull ache. Her hand moved away from my cheek, and she placed it on my temple, close to my injured eye, and I looked up at her with trust just as her eyes closed. Blue eyes with green and hazel inside. _Beautiful._ I thought, and I closed my eyes, feeling…happy and peaceful at the same time, and I could feel her healing me. The gunk leaked out of the corner of my eye like tears, and my eye felt normal again as she fixed it. When she was done, I felt her hand leave my temple, and she stroked it lightly down my face, neck, and shoulder, very lightly, and as she stroked across my chest, barely touching me, I could feel a tingle, and a trail of warmth, from where her hand had been, and when I felt her begin to push her hand down my right arm, I knew what she was going to do, and I freed up my shoulder, wincing slightly as it caused my arm to twinge.

She lifted her hand clear of the bruise, and she pushed her hand under my wrist, and she lifted my arm. I gritted my teeth as the lifting caused my arm to try to sink back to the earth, and she stroked my forehead apologetically. She didn't mean to hurt me, and I knew that anyway, but still I relaxed again as she lay my arm across my chest. I trusted her. The warmth touched the bruise, and once again, the pain started to fade away. I opened my eyes and looked up at her, appreciating what she was doing for me. I smiled at her when she opened her eyes and the warmth in my arm ceased as she yawned. She smiled sleepily down at me, and it seemed that her eyes grew fainter, and they closed once again.

Boots was standing behind her now, and he caught her gently against his ribs when she slumped backwards, and he laid her down on the ground, concerned, sitting next to her. _What's happening?_ I worried and was confused when I saw her…faint? So I rolled onto my knees, and looked at her face and held my hand above her nose and mouth and waited. Deep, long, regular breaths from her nose and mouth together brushed my hand as she breathed, and I relaxed, though still confused. She was sleeping. I sat back on my ankles, thinking.

"What's wrong wit' 'er?" I looked at Boots. He was looking at me concernedly. I smiled reassuringly, though a little slow to the uptake.

"Nothin'. She's jus' sleepin'. " I paused, and I reached over to her other side and lifted her up. Her back arched over with the gravity, and I pulled over onto my shoulder and stood up, holding her in place. "We should get 'er back ta da house." Boots nodded, and getting up he led the way towards the Manhattan Newsboy's Lodging House. As we walked, I kept my arms wrapped securely around her, and felt my heart go out to her. She helped us win the fight, and healed us as well. Now it was my turn to make sure she was safe, and instinctively, I held her a little tighter. "Thanks, Healah." I whispered, and walked on.

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**A/N:** Well, isn't he sweet? Hope you enjoyed it. R&R everyone!


	5. The Manhattan Boys

**A/N:** I don't own the movie.

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Mmm…sleep, sleep, energy replenishing sleep…felt _so_ nice…bliss…I sank deeper into the sleep, not wanting to wake from it anytime soon, and so I did, though I became aware of my instant surroundings. I was upside down. That confused me. How did I get upside down? Oh. I felt a shoulder under my belly, and there was a strong chest that my legs were draped over, and a good, strong arm was holding onto my legs, while the other was holding my arm over his other shoulder, so I was draped diagonally across his back. _Who is this?_ I asked, and the answer came. _Bumlets._ I found, and I felt something else trying to make itself known, so I listened. _M-michael…._ The voice trailed off and I couldn't hear anymore. Michael? That wasn't his name, was it? I didn't know, and I didn't really care. I was comfortable, warm, and very tired, so I sank deeper into sleep, making a soft sound of contentment, and I felt in bliss, descending into the comforting deep blue of sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We were nearly back to the house when we ran into the boys, Jack, Blink, Mush, Racetrack and the rest of them heading towards lunch. It was Crutchy who first spotted us. He stopped and stared at us for a second, not believing what he saw, and eventually, he just pointed to Boots and I with Healer over my shoulder and called out to Jack worriedly as I walked towards them with my head down.

"'Ey Jack! I think sumthin's wrong with Bum's girl!" Jack stopped and turned when he heard Crutchy call out, and he turned to see where he was pointing, shading his eyes against the sun. And his eyes widened in disbelief. Crutchy hadn't been able to see the fight when it happened, so he didn't recognize the girl, but Jack could just see her face over Bumlet's shoulder. Or at least he recognized her ass. To see Bumlets carrying the girl who could soundly soak both the Delanceys in two seconds flat without breaking a sweat was something to be stared at. Or at least, that's what he thought.

"'Ey, Bumlets!" He shouted, and I looked up at him, seeing him walk up towards me with a stride, followed by the others. "Dat's da goil from dis mornin', isn't it?" I looked up at him and nodded, stopping to carefully take her down off my shoulder. She was as limp as a rag doll, and bent in nearly any direction, even the sides. _Now I know I can't do that._ I thought as she just flopped over to her side, going halfway down. To her front or to behind her, she could bend basically in half. To me, it looked painful, but when she did it, she seemed to be made of rubber. As easy as anything. "How'd she get hurt?" I looked up at Jack from trying to find an easy way to hold her up, and shook my head. I settled for sitting her on the ground and leaning her against my leg.

"She didn't get hurt. She's sleepin'." I stated simply and looked at him, and he looked at me like I was crazy. I raised an eyebrow.

"Sleepin'? In da middle of da day?" He asked, crouching to look at her, and indeed she was sleeping. He looked up at me. I nodded. "How? Why?" I thought. I didn't think they'd believe me, so I told him the next best thing.

"She was tired."

Jack still looked confused, but he didn't ask any more questions, and that was fine by me. He straightened back up, rubbing the back of his neck, looking awkward.

"So, um…what 'appened?" I looked at him, wondering what his response would be.

"She saved our asses." I stated, and Jack looked up surprised, and then tilted his head to the side, as if acknowledging his being surprised was kind of unnecessary, and he waited. Boots spoke up.

"Da Delancys got me dis time." Jack looked surprised and angry in that order. "-but Bumlets came back and found me, since we decided to work together today, and he jumped into the fight." Mush grinned and grabbed Bumlets, slapping him on the chest and giving him a friendly shake. Bumlets grinned and then made sure Healer didn't fall over and hurt herself. "It was us against four scabs, and it wasn't going very well before Healer jumped in." Every one grew very still at the mention of the outnumbering. Four against two was not a fair fight. "It was the Delancys and two others, a blonde and some other guy, and they had gotten me pretty good by the time she showed up." Boots said, gesturing to Healer with one hand and gently rubbing his ribs with a wince. "I think they broke at least two ribs, and they hurt Bumlets pretty bad too." Jack, Blink, Mush, Race and Crutchy all looked at Bumlets. He looked down somewhat shamefully. There was a sort of a ring around his left eye and a faint mark of a bruise on his arm, and Jack frowned. Something wasn't right about that eye. Boots grinned. "When Healer walked up, she said 'hello boys' and you should've seen those Delancys!" Boots crowed, laughing. "They just froze! That's how I managed to get away from them. Naturally, she took care of the boys after that, no problem, and then she-" Boots stopped talking at a nudge and a warning look from Bumlets. "-um…" He looked at Bumlets questioningly but didn't say anything else.

Jack and the rest were looking at him expectantly. Bumlets ran his hand through his dark black hair nervously, and took his cap out of his pocket, putting it on his head. It was getting hot out. I didn't know how they would react to this. I looked around, and squatted, putting my hands under Healer's armpits and pulling her upright again. So like with a large ragdoll, I made a sort of a careful tossing and turning motion with her until she was facing me again, and I stooped, putting her over my shoulders again. I straightened up, and looked at them all evenly.

"I need to get her to the Lodging House." I said, and turned, walking back that way. The rest of the newsboys started and jumped after me after I got a few paces away, catching up to the fact that I was really walking away from them.

"'Ey! Bumlets! What did she do?" I stopped, and turned to look at them. I thought and glanced around, Boots was right behind me.

"I can tell ya at da house." I said and then turned, and walked on, the rest of the boys following, leaving Jack feeling disgruntled. Usually he was the one who led.

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**A/N:** Hmm...so he's the strong and silent type, is he now? Hmm...Love-a-ly... Read & Review everyone! Reviews are what keeps writers going!


	6. Attraction

**A/N: **I don't own the movie.

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I yawned and stretched. Was it morning already? Ungh…_I'm surprised cook hasn't woken me up already…_I pushed myself out of bed unwillingly, feet first- and fell about five feet with a surprised yelp. I landed on my feet in a crouch with a thump, adrenaline fully coursing through me now, that little shock of the bed's height having woken me fully. I looked around franticly. _Where am I?_ Last time I woke up in place I didn't recognize, it wasn't good news for me.

There were metal frame bunk beds everywhere- one of which I just fell out of, and the whole place was dusty and empty. Judging by the messiness of the place, it was a boy's lodging house. I felt the emptiness and felt I was safer that way, so I straightened up, looking around and taking in more. To my right there were stairs, and to my left, there was what seemed to be a mass bathroom. _I wonder if they have toilets in there…_ I wondered. Steps suddenly thundered up the stairs to my right, and I dropped to the floor on an instinct, watching the stairs carefully, and I saw a head of black hair appear over the wooden railing, and his face turned to look for me. I relaxed. It was Bumlets. I was definitely safe then, and with a smile on my face, I stood up, one hand on my hip and a laughing smile on my lips as I walked out from between the beds. I cast a teasing, laughing look at him, and he stilled, watching me, as if entranced.

"Now who put me on a top bunk?" I teased laughing. Bumlets seemed to come back to himself, and he grinned, shrugging.

"I thought you'd be safer up there, where the little 'uns can't reach ya." I laughed, and nodded, shrugging. I walked up to him to close the majority of distance between us, and stopped a couple of feet away from him.

"So where am I?" I asked seriously now, hand on one hip, waiting for an answer. Bumlets looked embarrassedly down at the ground, rubbing the back of his head with one hand.

"Ehm…I kinda thought you'd be better off where everyone was…" He paused, and I waited, giving him a look. He glanced up at me and grimaced sheepishly "You're in da Newsboys Lodging House." _Oh…_I thought, and I nodded, accepting that. Bumlets bowed his head, rolling his shoulders back. I frowned. I liked people to look at me. I reached out, putting my hand under his chin and made him look up at me. He looked at me curiously, and I smiled, satisfied.

"Everyone still out selling?" I asked. He shook his head.

"They're all downstairs. They saw you in that fight this mornin' in front of da gates, so they got curious when I carried you here from da park." I wasn't surprised when he said that he had carried me. I knew that already. I nodded, sitting down on a bunk. Bumlets' beautiful brown eyes followed me as I did. Suddenly I felt an urge to jump up and grab him in a Tango hold and the idea seemed very possible and sexy. I blinked and the feeling was gone. I brushed it off. _Good thing I don't follow short urges._ I thought, but the feeling still lingered.

"Yeah. Thanks for that, by the way. For carrying me back." I said. Bumlets smiled. _Gorgeous._ "So how's the kid?" I asked, changing the subject and trying to keep myself from finding more things about Bumlets attractive. He shifted his weight, shoving his left hand into his pocket as he did. My gaze quickly ran over him. _Fail._ I leaned back and crossed my legs, and I noticed that he suddenly looked straight ahead.

"His name's Boots, and he's fine." He said, slowly lowering his eyes back to mine. "He told me to say thanks from him if ya had woken up- when I came up to check on ya, ya know." He paused, and I nodded, not saying anything. A few moments passed in which we were silent, and it was quite peaceful, quiet. I could hear the horses and voices outside, and the peaceful sound of dust falling. He put his head down and a put his hand on the back of his neck, looking up again- into my eyes. _Beautiful brown eyes…_ "It was amazin', what you did." I pushed myself up to listen to him, and he looked away briefly before looking back at me. "Thanks." He paused, speechless, and dropped his hand, softly gesturing low. "You just…healed him…and you glowed." I tilted my head to the side slightly. Normally, people didn't see that. "-and you healed me, too. It's amazin' how ya can do that…" I leaned forward, putting my elbows on my crossed knees, and I smiled at him before I looked away.

"I can do a lot of things." I said quietly with a sigh.

_I bet you can._ I started, looking back up at him with slightly wider eyes.

"What?" I asked. Bumlets blinked.

"What?"

"Ya said something…" Bumlets looked confused, cautious, and shook his head.

"I didn't."

We looked at each other for a few moments in confused silence. I was sure he had said 'I bet you can', though I was doubting myself slightly as well. The words had resonated. It didn't sound like a normal voice would, but it did sound like he had said it. _Maybe…maybe he thought it?_ I shook my head slightly and stood up with a sigh. _Don't be stupid_, I thought, yet I felt it was true_._ His eyes followed me. I stood with my weight on my left foot, my hand in my pocket, and I looked at him casually.

"Let's get outta here." I proposed, and he nodded, turning, and he showed me the staircase. I rolled my eyes at his 'gentlemanly' motive as I walked by him. I know why he did that. I smiled slightly as I heard him start to walk after me, and with two steps, I wiggled my ass, emphasizing my walk. His walk stuttered to a halt. I grinned and headed down the stairs, hearing him follow me a minute later.

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**A/N:** Ooooo! The attraction is starting to make itself known...Weeheehee! I wonder what'll happen next? Read & Review everyone! It's what keeps the story comin'!


	7. Lust

**A/N: **I don't own the movie.

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**THUMP.**

I was talking downstairs with Jack and Boots and the rest of the newsies when a loud thump from overhead made us jump. I looked up at the ceiling, as did Jack and the rest. I looked back down at him, slightly nervous. _What happened?_ Boots and I had just been telling the rest of the boys what had happened in full detail- and explaining why Healer was called that. Jack looked back down at me, and squinted in thought. He brushed his nose, then gave me a gentle push.

"Ya should go check on ya Healer, Bum." I tried not to turn red and nodded, getting up from where I was sitting. Mush threw himself down into it as soon as I had stood up. I was already walking towards the stairs when I glanced over my shoulder. Jack made a shooing motion and looked at Blink, talking to him. I turned my face back to the stairs and thundered up them like I usually did, worrying a bit. Was she ok? It sounded a bit like she rolled out of her bed, and I felt kind of guilty, for I put her on my bunk, on the top, 'cause I didn't think she'd appreciate the smaller ones bugging her.

I got to the top and looked over to where I had seen her last and didn't see her. Anywhere. Not even on my bunk. That worried me, and I furrowed my brows, coming fully out onto the landing, looking around. I heard a little sigh, and I looked back towards my bunk, and I saw someone straighten up and walk out from between the bunks, swaying her hips with her hand on one. When Healer got into clear sight of me, she stopped and posed, her hand on one hip, grinning, giving me a teasing look. _Whoa. _I thought, and I froze. _…she is beautiful…_ her hair was dark brown and past her shoulders, her waistline was slim and strong, she had blue-green-brown eyes and curves to model a racetrack by. _I guess I never noticed that much before…I knew she was pretty, but…stunning?_ She laughed lightly.

"Now who put me on a top bunk?" She teased with laughter in her eyes. I relaxed, and I grinned with a shrug.

"I thought you'd be safer up there, where the little 'uns can't reach ya." I said. She laughed with a shrug, and nodded as if I had a point, and she walked over, closer to me so it'd be easier to talk. Her hips swayed with every step she took, and I decided to look at her face instead, getting slightly uncomfortable. As she walked forward, I noticed her face expressions changing. She wanted to know something. She stopped a couple of feet away from me and stood with her feet at hip-width apart. She looked at me. _Pretty eyes. Like water, and trees…and earth…_

"So where am I?" She asked, and she put a fist on her hip, and I remembered what she could do with those fists. I licked my lips nervously, and my hand jumped to the back of my neck as I looked at the ground.

"Ehm…I kinda thought you'd be better off where everyone was…" I paused and looked up at Healer, looking for her reaction. She looked at me with one eyebrow raised and I grimaced nervously. "You're in da Newsboys Lodging House." I clarified. She said 'oh' with her face and nodded. I looked at the floor, rolling my shoulders back and feeling ashamed. I shouldn't have brought her here. I can't think that she would've liked it here.

A soft hand touched my chin, her index finger curled under my chin and her thumb gently pressing against my chin, and she pulled my face up to look at her. Her hand was so soft, yet somehow rough, like she worked hard but took good care of herself. I looked at her curiously, and she smiled in satisfaction. _Oh. She must've wanted me to look at her._

"Everyone still out sellin'?" she asked, and I shook my head, leaning back against one of the beds.

"They're all downstairs. They saw you in that fight this mornin' in front of da gates, so they got curious when I carried you here from da park." She nodded, and sat down on Skittery's bunk across from me, and I saw her look at me, and suddenly her eyes flashed. That kind of surprised me, but I didn't show it. It looked as though her eyes flashed hot, and she leaned forward slightly, but it faded away as quickly as it had come, and leaned back again.

"Yeah. Thanks for that, by the way. For carrying me back." I smiled widely. She remembered. She looked at me, entranced, and I smiled at her, mainly through my eyes. "So how's the kid?" She asked. I shifted my weight, putting my left hand in my pocket, and I noticed her eyes ran over me quickly as I did so. I smiled slightly with a hidden bit of happiness in my eyes. _She likes me._ She suddenly leaned back, crossing her legs, and definitely feeling something stir, I pulled my eyes away from her and didn't look back at her until the feeling faded.

"His name's Boots," I said, lowering my eyes carefully only to her eyes. "- and he's fine. He told me to say thanks from him if ya had woken up- when I came up to check on ya, ya know." A few moments passed. It was peacefully quiet, and I could hear the horses outside, and the sound of dust falling. Healer leaned back onto her elbows, reclining. I looked at the floor, putting my hand on the back of my neck, and I sighed, looking back up at her. "It was amazin', what you did." I said softly, and she pushed herself back up, looking curious, and I looked away before looking back at her. "Thanks." I said. She nodded, accepting that, waiting. I looked down slightly, and dropped my hand, gesturing low, to the floor, feeling like I wanted to say more, but not really being able to find the words to say it. She had lived up to her name, and I remembered what she did in the park. "You just…healed him…and you glowed." Healer tilted her head to one side, looking slightly surprised, but only showing it through her eyes. "-and you healed me, too. It's amazin' how ya can do that…" I said appreciatively, and I paused, smiling at her, but my smile faded when she leaned forward, putting her elbows on her crossed knees, shooting me a quick, sad smile. She seemed to be remembering something unhappy, and I wanted to feel for her, but something about the way she was sitting…

"I can do a lot of things…" she sighed, and I got a vivid image in my mind of her that made me want to turn around and hide, but for a split second, I liked it. _I bet you can._ I thought with a strength- lustfully, and as soon as I did, I wanted to hit myself. _Jerk._ I thought about myself, shaking my head a little. Healer started, and looked back at me, her eyes slightly wide.

"What?" I was confused.

"What?"

"You said something." I paused, and shook my head slowly.

"I didn't." _I thought something._

We stayed that way for about a minute, very awkwardly letting the silence fill the space between us. She looked at me with penetrating eyes, and I looked at the ground, not wanting to meet her gaze. _She's so beautiful… _I could almost hear an imaginary clock ticking. I heard Healer stand up, so I looked at her, and I saw her looking restless. She looked into my eyes.

"Lets get outta here." She suggested, and I nodded, knowing very well how that restless mood felt. I stepped back, turning, and I showed her the staircase. Healer relaxed and smiled, rolling her eyes as she passed by me, and I wondered why, but shrugged and followed her anyways. Then she wiggled her butt, extra emphasizing her hip movement. I stopped abruptly, my eyes wide. I defiantly needed to stay behind this time, and the reason why showed up in my pants. I flushed bright red, and I turned to do something about it, hoping she wouldn't turn around. Thankfully, she didn't. She just kept on walking and didn't even look around. In a minute, I could follow her, and I did, getting rid of the glow in my face, and I acted like nothing had happened at all.

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**A/N:** Lol! Poor Bum... I kinda feel sorry for doing this to him...Eh, not at all, actually. READ & REVIEW everyone! It's what keeps writers writing!


	8. His Love

**A/N: **This should be sweet. Disclaimer: I don't own the movie.

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A few days had passed since Bumlets had taken Healer back to the Lodging House, and soon everyone there knew her, and all the small ones loved her and hung around her when she came to visit. They had all since found out about the wonder and the wonderful feeling she brought when she healed them, since they often fell and hurt themselves, though there was nothing worse than a scrape.

She and Bumlets got to know each other better, and became the closest of friends, always hanging out together. She wasn't afraid to rough and tumble with him, and he quickly learned that she wasn't made of glass, so they always had fun playing around together. They also discovered that they both liked dancing, and so the two of them took to spying every night after selling their last papes- through the shutters of the local ballrooms and dance studios- and so they learned.

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It was dark when I found an open window to a dance studio. I was climbing a fire escape carefully when I heard music drifting to me, and the beat of sounded familiar. I looked up and around for it, and failing to see it, I followed the sound soon finding the window. I looked in and found myself looking in at a man and a woman holding each other, and a dance instructor. I watched them move, and I knew what they were doing in a few moments, my face lighting up. They called this Salsa. My favorite one! I pushed myself quietly away from the window, and I rolled over carefully on the fire escape from where I had to lie on it to hide from being found. I needed to find Bumlets. He was also looking for a window that we could look into, and the last time I saw him, he was climbing above me, so I looked up, giving a soft whistle.

A few seconds passed before I saw him poke his head out from a balcony above me, his black hair hanging down and his eyebrows rose in question, and I grinned at him, putting a finger to my lips and beckoning. He grinned in response. I found one! He popped his head back in, and I saw him start to climb down to where I was as fast and carefully as he could, so he wouldn't be heard. If we were careful about how we moved, and took care not to be heard, we could possibly keep coming back here for a while.

I smiled, and carefully crawled back over to where I had been before. The windowsill was about a foot and a quarter high, so if we were careful, we could both lie next to the window and look in, using the darkness of the falling night to cover us. _Possibly one of the more comfortable positions I've been in doing this…_ I thought as I lay on my side next to the window looking in with my head propped up in my hand. I heard Bumlets' quiet feet come down the stair behind me, and I rolled half onto my back to check it was him, and I smiled when I saw him coming carefully down, watching his feet with his hand on the railing lightly. When he hit the landing, he looked up for me and found me right away. I put a finger up to my lips with a wink and a wry smile, and rolled back to the window when I saw him smile and get onto his knees.

Soon enough, I felt him spoon in behind me, and I stiffened slightly as a matter of habit. I was usually slightly surprised when he did that, and he used his free hand to rub my arm in a light apology. I turned my head to look at him and mouthed a 'thank you', the appreciation for the apology shone in my eyes. He smiled at me in return, and we both turned our attention to what was happening beyond the windowsill.

The woman was young and redheaded, and from the looks of her, from one of the higher classes, for the fanciness of her clothes. The man was also young, though older than the woman if looks could tell, and he was dressed in worn clothing, but it was the way that he held himself that spoke of his riches. I did not envy them for one minute. They were beautiful, yes- but where I was in the world right now, I was happy. I would not want to change a thing. I would've liked to have a little more money, though.

The music started up smoothly, and the couple embraced. This was familiar to me. I nearly knew the dance like the back of my hand, there were just a few things that we had both missed out, Bumlets and I, and we both enjoyed watching the same dance many times, because it was always slightly different. The smooth start of the song rolled into a snazzy beginning, and the couple whirled into the dance. I smiled, liking what they were doing, and I leaned forward to get a closer look, eager. I loved to dance, and I loved to watch people dance. I could watch it for forever, and I smiled, my eyes shining. They were so beautiful….

Bumlets rested his strong, big hand on my hip at one point, and I was happy to let him have it there, for I didn't mind, and I shifted a little back so he could get comfortable. As the dance continued, I never stopped watching, though my arm started getting tired, so I leaned back to give it a rest. I pillowed myself on Bumlets' chest, and got comfortable, and he moved his hand further across my side, so that his hand wouldn't go where it wasn't supposed to go, and I felt so comfortable there. I felt like I was supposed to be snuggled up like this with him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I was trying to find a way through a dusty window when I heard Healer's whistle, and I instantly abandoned the attempt, and poked my head over the fire escape quietly, and looked down to find Healer leaning over as well, and looking up at me. She was grinning, and a glint of happiness shone in her eyes when she put her finger to her lips and beckoned, sending the message: **be quiet, I found one…** I grinned. _Yes!_ I thought, and instantly I pulled my head back over and quietly worked my way down to where she was, quickly and efficiently, resting my hand on the railing and watching my feet, so in case I tripped or something, I could try to keep myself as silent as possible by holding on.

I was watching my feet still when I got to where Healer was, and only then did I look up, my black hair swinging around my face, needing a trim. I saw her right away, lying half on her side and half on her back waiting until I saw her, when she put a finger to her lips with a smile and a little glint in her eye before turning back around to watch what was going on through the window. The window was about a foot and a half high, so in my opinion, Healer had the right idea to lie on her side, and possibly, it was also more comfortable than we had been before in some places. I smiled at her and went to my hands and knees before she turned around, and I carefully crawled over to her before lying on my side and spooning in behind her. She stiffened, and I remembered with a pang of regret that she still wasn't used to my being so close to her, and I rubbed her exposed arm in apology. She rolled over then with gratitude in her eyes and mouthed: 'Thank you.'. I nodded in response, and looked through the window the same time as she did.

I grinned. This was salsa. Both of us loved this dance, and together we had learned much about it, and we were slowly putting together our own dance routine to perform one day for money. Maybe, one day we could dance together instead of selling papes. I wanted to dream about the idea, but I knew I had to keep watching, but having Healer so close to me made me want to hold her. I looked at her hip, and with the gentle pulling of the music; I slowly started to gain the courage to gently place my hand on her hip. I was afraid of how she would react to that, and I was surprised in return for my fears. She didn't look back at me, but she snuggled back, and she pressed her back against my entire bottom half. I swallowed gently so I wouldn't be heard and I looked at her. I was tempted to stroke her hair, scrunched up under her hat, but I resisted, knowing that she would find that strange. Or at least I thought she would. Her hip was strong and solid under my hand, and I could nearly cover it completely with just one hand. I shook my head slightly and went back to watching the dance, just when Healer leaned back. That also surprised me, but she looked like she was giving her leaning arm a rest, and she lay against my chest.

The feeling thrilled me. Were she was lying against me, it felt like there was electricity running through me, leaving me holding my breath. _Wow._ I moved my hand across her belly so that it wouldn't fall between her legs, and I held her like that, comfortably to me. In the light from the window, I looked at her, surrounded by the oncoming darkness, and I saw her beautiful face lit up by the light from inside, coloring her an orange-yellow- and the sight of her just took my breath away. _She's so beautiful…_I marveled at how beautiful she was and how lucky I was to have her here with me…even if nothing ever came of it. The thought saddened me, but I was determined to not let anything spoil what little we had.

I looked back through the window, trying to focus and learn more steps, and for a little while, it worked, and I learned. I watched the first dance finish and the second begin, when I finally came to notice that Healer was no longer moving, and that she had just seemed to have…slowed. I looked down at her face, and I saw she was asleep, and my heart softened for her. Her eyes were closed, and she looked so, peaceful, so happy. She looked- she looked safe. She looked like she felt safe, and she had brought my arm up higher around her, and was holding gently onto my hand. Oh, how I wanted to love her! Though as far as I knew, I couldn't. I was afraid. Afraid of her telling me no. Afraid of ruining what we already had, afraid that she loved someone else, afraid of leaving myself vulnerable. Though I loved her.

As I thought, I felt my eyelids start to droop, and I felt my arms and my body getting heavier and heavier. _Sleep, sleep, rest awhile, and find the dreams to lead you a mile…_ My mum had told me that the day before she died, and I never forgot it, and I always remembered her as the woman who loved me forever, no matter what. Sometimes I missed her, but I knew that she would've wanted me to go on. Sleep pulled my eyes closed, sleep weighed down my limbs, and I could hardly move anymore. Except. My eyes closed, I pulled in closer to Healer, and I held onto her safely. I promised myself that even in sleep I would keep her safe, and with a stern expression on my face, I fell asleep.

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**A/N: **Aww...his love for her is so sweet and so strong. Don't we all wish for someone like that?


	9. Medda

**A/N: **I don't own the movie.

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A little past midnight Medda bid her dance instructor and her dance partner goodnight, and she went about closing all the windows in her little apartment after the humidity in the room left, and she drew the curtains as well, to prevent theft in the night. She was smiling, and she went about her job humming the tune she had danced to with her friend, dancing a step here and there. She really enjoyed dancing. When she got to the window that led onto the fire escape, she was just about to shut the window when she stopped in surprise, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. There were two children lying on the staircase!

Medda slowly closed her mouth, and the size of her eyes grew smaller as she tried to figure out why they were lying there. Taking her hands from the window, she placed them daintily, quietly on the windowsill, and she ducked under and leaned carefully forward, as not to make a sound, and she listened, and slowly started to smile.

Medda's eyes shone as she kneeled next to the window, watching the two young orphans sleep outside her window. They both looked to be around the age of fifteen, give a few years, maybe. She found the sight so sweet, that her eyes actually started to shine as she smiled. One of them was a strong-looking boy who was of a good size and had black hair falling over his face, and he had his arms around a girl who was slightly smaller than he was. She looked to be about the same age as he, or maybe slightly younger, but she looked to be just as strong as the boy. She had dark blonde hair tucked up under a hat, was very skinny, and she had a good hold on that's boy's hand.

Medda wanted to cry, the scene in front of her was so sweet! In front of her, she saw love in it's purest form, and she always wanted to remember it. That's when she had an idea. She quietly left the window, and she carefully found her watercolors, paper, pencil and a small pot of water. She placed the water on the sill, placing the watercolors and paper by the window, and she laid the pencil on the sill as well, along with the sharpener-, which was a new fad, which she was willing to try out. A small, handheld device in which a person turned a pencil, and it sharpened. It worked.

She pulled a chair up to the window, and quickly she sketched the boy and girl in front of her, glancing up at them every so often. Soon enough, she laid those aside, and picked up the paintbrush. Carefully, she filled in the colors, and she put the picture aside to dry when she was done. She moved her chair, emptied her dirty water, and put everything back where it had been before, and she came back to the window with her arms full, smiling. She had brought out a pair of couch pillows, and taken along a winter blanket from her linen cupboard. On the corner of the pillows and the blanket, her name was embroidered, so she had faith in their safety.

Medda silently put the blanket and the cushions next to the window before carefully climbing through to where the two young ones were. Taking a glance at the children, she carefully reached back through the window and retrieved the cushions, and placing one beside her, she kneeled carefully at the children's heads, and she slowly, delicately slid her hands under the boy's head and lifted his head up, sliding the cushion under before putting his head down carefully on it. He stirred a little, but didn't wake up, so she moved onto the girl. She was easier to handle, since her head was light, and Medda had had more experience with girls because of her younger sisters. Soon, her head was cushioned too, and she reached through the window again for the blanket, and she soon had them covered up and tucked in. She smiled at them tenderly. They reminded her of her sister's two little children.

She gently smoothed their hair, and dropped feather-light kisses on their foreheads to wish them a goodnight, and when she stroked his hair, the boy leaned a little into her hand in sleep. She smiled. He probably thought she was his mother. Or he was longing for her touch again. Medda's smile faded.

"Sleep well, little one." She wanted to say more, but couldn't think of what else to say, so she gave his head one last stroke before she turned and climbed back in through the window. She shut the window carefully, and drew the curtain, and went to bed, thinking about those two children.

The girl's eyes had opened slightly, still tired, and she whispered:

"Sleep, sleep, sleep very well, may your sleep be blessed with dreams." She yawned and closed her eyes, leaning back onto her friend's chest, feeling safer than she ever had in a long, long time. Medda dreamt the whole night through of dancing.

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**A/N:** I'm sorry this chapter is so short, it just seems sweeter this way. READ & REVIEW please! Feedback is what writers live on!


	10. Kidnapped!

**A/N: **I don't own the movie.

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The next morning, Bumlets woke up, having had a good full restoring sleep, and with a sore side. That puzzled him for a minute, until he shifted, and he felt his arm push against a girl's front, and her back hit his stomach. His eyes flew open in surprise, and he pushed himself up on a reflex. A blanket nearly held him down when he tried, and a cool morning breeze brushed against his skin. He had a sense of being very high up, and the surface under his hand felt like metal and was slightly ridged. He felt so confused, until he looked at the girl.

Healer. She was still asleep, and she looked beautiful to me. Seeing her and taking in my surroundings helped me to remember. We were up on a fire escape last night, and we had watched a red-haired woman and her partner dance Salsa. Healer had fallen asleep in my arms, and I had fallen asleep soon after her. But how did the blanket get there? I moved my arm, and felt my hand knock into a cushion, and my brow furrowed in thought. _How did that get there? It wasn't there when I fell asleep._

Healer moaned in her sleep, grabbing hold of my hand and trying to roll onto her stomach. As a matter of gravity, I was pulled along with her, and when she rolled onto her stomach, my arm was pulled under, and I was pulled flush against her back. I blushed, and started pulling away carefully, when I realized we were late for selling. True, the sun had only just risen, but it had risen. Quickly, I pulled my arm away from her, and taking her shoulder, I shook her.

"Healah, Healah we're late! We need ta sell!" I said to her, and her eyes flew open. In a matter of seconds she had let go of my hand, rolled out from under the blanket, folded up the blanket and put it and the cushions under the window. I blinked, stunned. _That was fast._ Healer turned to look at me, and she grabbed a hold of my hand with a look of placid calm, of a stern concentration, and she pulled me down the stairs.

"Come." She said quietly, calmly. _I'll get us there._ I blinked. I heard her say that, but her mouth didn't move, and in just frank surprise, I followed her.

As we ran, she pulled me along- I noticed that she started…she seemed to dance. As she ran, she swayed from side to side, like a train sleepily bumping from side to side as it travels, and she closed her eyes briefly every now and then, and the buildings around us seemed to blur to me as we headed for the bottom of the fire escape. I couldn't feel the stairs under my feet anymore, and I noticed that it didn't take much effort to run anymore. It felt as if I was gliding, or soaring. We were reaching the bottom of the staircase, and I felt Healer's grip on my hand tighten. A feeling of peace, of calm trust washed over me, and I relaxed. We were just about to jump off the fire escape, and I trusted her.

_Close your eyes. _I closed my eyes, completely trusting her. _Jump._ I jumped.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I landed with a stumble on a rough, cobbled surface. _Cobbled?_ I thought curiously. The ground under the fire escape was dirt, softer than this. The air was different here. Slightly hotter, thicker, and I felt sort of- choked. It felt familiar. It felt like the air in front of the distribution office. It puzzled me for a minute, but I accepted that I wouldn't know everything. I was fine with that.

Healer's hand left mine, and I furrowed my eyebrows in a slight worry, standing still with my eyes closed. I had no desire to open them just yet. I felt calm, centered and at peace, trusting her. I felt a slightly smaller body embrace me, and I hugged Healer in return, gently, and tenderly. She put her mouth next to my ear, gently smoothing my back.

"Open your eyes." She breathed, and I felt…restored, calm, accepting what I would see. I opened my eyes slowly, and in front of me I saw the square in front of the distribution office. On either side of me were dark walls. We were in an alley. I smiled. She got us to where we needed to be. I felt Healer worry, and her head left my chest as she took her arms from around me, and she put her palms on either side of my head, on my temples. I looked down at her with eyes full of peace, love and everything good. She frowned slightly, mostly with her eyes, and she brought her mouth to mine in a feather-light kiss. I froze, my eyes wide. _She's kissing me! Oh my god! Oh my-_

_Be normal. Be yourself._ I heard her voice inside my head once again as she pulled away, and I wondered. Hearing her in my head wasn't a normal thing. No one else could do that. She turned and walked away, and I only noticed a few minutes after she was gone. I started, and I jumped up from where I was leaning back on one foot, and I ran out after her, looking around for her. She was gone.

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_Why did I kiss him? _Healer thought with remorse as she walked away from Bumlets and away from the distribution office. _I didn't need to._ She couldn't face anyone just yet. She couldn't sell just yet today, she regretted what she did too much, so she headed towards the park, her favorite place to go, wrapped up in her thoughts. As she went, she didn't notice she was being watched. A couple of newsies not from her part of town had stony faces, hid in the shadows, covered in soot, and their eyes followed her as she passed.

One beckoned to the other, and they followed her. This was the girl the Manhattan newsies loved so much, and this was the girl Spot Colon wanted them to catch. They followed her silently to the park, where the hung back, their dirtiness a sore spot in their surroundings.

Healer walked over to her favorite tree, the one she had leapt out from behind to help Bumlets and Boots that one day- and she put her back against it, thinking. She put her knees up, resting her elbows on them, and she rested her head in her hands. She shook her head in regret. _How could I do that? He doesn't love me._ She berated herself mentally, squeezing her eyes shut, and she shook her head a little. _How could I?_

She didn't hear the quiet footsteps that came up behind her. She didn't feel or hear the two newsies who snuck up behind her, one with a wet cloth held at the ready, one walking with a rope in his hands, hanging just behind the one who walked like a cat. About a foot away from her, they paused, and waiting for the opportune moment, he lunged.

Healer's head shot up and her eyes grew wide when she felt a hand with a wet cloth close around her mouth and nose, and she felt herself pulled roughly against a body, holding her down. She struggled, and she felt the boy's arm tense, trying to keep her in place. Soon, she felt the effects of the wet cloth taking a hold on her, and she became sluggish. _Shit. Chloroform._ She realized, and she couldn't move any more. The boy's arm relaxed as her eyes rolled up into her head and she went limp.

The newsie took the cloth away from her face and threw it aside, and lifting the girl up, he stood up, throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The boy with the rope looked at the first, and the boy shook his head and walked towards the Brooklyn Bridge. They didn't need the rope.

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**A/N:** ... REVIEW!


	11. Spot Colon

**A/N: **I don't own the movie.

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It was nearing dinnertime, and Bumlets still hadn't seen her. He was getting seriously worried now. All through the day he told himself that she just wanted to be on her own today, but it was now getting dark and she still wasn't back. He was nervously pacing the common room of the Newsboys Lodging House even before the others got back. Boots had been with him all day, and right now he was sitting on a chair with his arms resting on the backrest, watching his friend walk back and forth silently. Bumlets ran his hand through his hair for what seemed like the hundredth time, stopping at the window, looking worriedly through it.

"Where is she?" He murmured anxiously, and Boots felt for his friend. He knew how he felt about her, even though Bumlets had never actually told him. He could tell by the way he acted around her. Bumlets loved her. Boots sighed quietly.

"Bumlets." He said. Bumlets turned from the window to look at him. "Healer is…well, she's Healer. She can take care of herself." Boots said consolingly to his friend. Bumlets looked to the floor, somewhat ashamedly. As if he knew that. Boots looked out the window himself. "She'll be safe." He said quietly, as much to himself as to his friend.

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Healer woke up groggily with a thumping headache. She groaned, thinking she was alone, and tried to raise a hand to rub her head, only to find she couldn't. She was tied to a chair. Healer froze, and she slowly started to open her eyes, looking around the room. The room was dark and quiet, with only one window in the room. She could hear the sounds of rushing water around her, and she connected the sound to a river, and the river to Brooklyn. She was in Brooklyn. She sat there for a little while, sitting silently, her eyes scanning the room. There was a corner to her left that she didn't like. It was too deep, too dark. She kept her eyes on that corner, and if she focused, she could swear she could hear a deep, slow, regular breathing coming from it. Someone was sleeping over there.

Healer rested her tension on that particular spot, and sent her senses around the room. No one else was in the room, except for the scrawny young boy sleeping in the dark corner. She decided on a course of action. Her wrists were bound to the chair, but luckily, her ankles weren't. So she stood, her arm pulling up the chair behind her, and grabbing it, she lifted it slightly off the floor behind her, and she walked towards that corner. There was a desk there, which she found by accidentally bumping into it with her stomach. She placed the chair down behind her and sat down, clearing her throat.

"Hrmhrm." The boy sleeping on the desk stirred but didn't wake up. Healer then stood up with her chair and walked around the desk to stand next to the boy sleeping in another chair with his head on the desk. In the faint light from the window she could tell the boy had ash-blonde hair and was relatively the same age as her. Healer then sat down and kicked his chair over.

The boy woke up with a start, and she saw a flash of blue eyes, a pink tongue and a huge wave of his arms as he fell over with a yell of surprise.

"YAGH!" I smiled a little as he lay sprawling on the floor, looking up into the dark in surprise. He couldn't see me just yet, so he reached for the desk and pulled himself up.

"It's about time you woke up." I said dryly, and he froze in surprise, his hand just reaching for a box of matches that sat next to some candles, but soon recovered and went about lighting the candles. When the room was properly lit, he put the box down and turned to look at me after chucking the still-lit match out the window. I heard it fizz out in a couple seconds. I raised my eyebrows a little. Must be high water here.

The boy looked at me, somewhat small, but still managing an intimidating look that would scare people less strong than I. He walked up to me, his cold, blue eyes calculating, evaluating. I was roughly the same size as him, if not bigger, and I didn't wince when he suddenly grabbed the back of my chair, thrusting his face next to mine. Rather, I thought of his face when he fell over and smiled a little. He scowled and pushed away.

"So you're da goil I keep 'earing about, eh?" I tilted my head as if to say a mocking, 'really?' "People say you're called Healah." I nodded. "Though as far as I know, you're anything but a healah." I raised my eyebrows. The boy glanced at me and my lack of verbal responses. "In fact- I would go so far as to call ya… Fightah." I frowned comically as if thinking about it and shook my head with a smile. The boy glared at me. "Why don't'cha talk, huh? Cat got ya tongue?" He walked over to me and glared in my face. He forced my mouth open and looked inside. "Well, ya ain't dumb, so what are ya? Stupid?" I rolled my eyes and sighed as the kid backed off. I looked at him irritatedly.

"What's ya name shorty?" I asked insultingly, and fire leapt up in the boy's eyes, and he bared his teeth and swung his fist at my face- and ended up doing a pirouette. As soon as I saw his face change expression, I pushed with my feet to the side, landed on my ass, threaded the needle, and stood up with the chair in front of me, but my ability to maneuver it very accurately was lost. Well, I'd deal.

The boy looked at me in surprise, standing there, gaping. I stood there, my wrists crossed in front of me, staring at him with stony eyes, watching him. He collected himself as well as he could, and just managed to slip over to the desk.

"Well, Fightah- my name is Spot. Spot Colon, actually, and I'm da leadah of da Brooklyn newsies." He said the last part with some pride, and I raised an eyebrow. He sobered. "I had ya caught to be held for ransom from the Manhattan newsies." My other eyebrow went to join the first one, and I was tempted to laugh in surprise.

"Newsies rivalry? Ha." I laughed. "That's stupid." Spot frowned at me with a glare.

"Why is that?" He said, demanding an explanation. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"We're newsies." I said, as if it was self-explanatory, which in my opinion-it was. Spot raised an eyebrow, so I continued with a sigh. "We're all in da same boat wit' a hole. If we don't work together ta plug da hole, then da boat will sink with all us in it. Da newsie that doesn't give anything for anyone else will kill himself and everyone else." I explained. Spot blinked, and I shook my head. Over his head he was there.

"Well, I didn't understand any of that-" Spot pushed himself off the desk and walked towards me, sitting down on my chair backwards, slipping something out of his pocket. "-but I do know that you'll be teaching me how ta fight." I stared at him, and the ropes around my wrists loosened and fell away. I looked down to see Spot flicking away a pocket knife and sticking it in his pocket. I rubbed my wrists and backed away.

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**A/N:** Heehee! Evil suspense! Mwahahaha! READ & REVIEW please! Enjoy!


	12. Close To My Heart

**A/N: **I don't own the movie.

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I didn't sleep all night. I was too worried about Healer. My heart was in pain, not knowing where she was. Normally, even if she had been angry with me for some reason, she would've come to check up on us long before now. She would've done that yesterday. It wasn't like her to be so late, and I was exhausted.

When Kloppman came up to wake us up, I just rolled out of bed without any protest, and walked zombie-like over to the bathroom to clean up and use the toilet. I still had my clothes on from yesterday. After my teeth were clean and my face washed, I looked in the mirror and saw I had dark circles under my eyes. It almost surprised me. I had never seen those on my face before, but then I guessed it came with not sleeping. Generally, I looked completely gone. Wasted. My black hair hanging limply around my face.

Without a second thought, I pushed myself away from the counter, and I trudged down the stairs. I couldn't make an effort to put a spring in my step or anything. Healer had disappeared, and I didn't know where she was. She had disappeared right after she had kissed me as well, and it pulled at my heart.

I managed to get to the distribution office before anyone else did today, and I waited in front of the gates for them to open, with my head down, feeling weighted, feeling much heavier than I normally did. I waited there, not making a sound, my head down, my heart in my throat. After awhile I heard Jack, Boots, Blink, Crutchy and everyone else come up behind me, humming a little tune.

"Hey Bumlets, what'cha doin' here so early?" I heard Jack call from behind me, very happy, as he normally was on a working day. I could barely turn my head to look at him. I knew it was bright sunrise at this time of day, and it was only getting brighter, but the world around me seemed to be getting dimmer. I heard Jack coming up beside me. I could just see his concerned expression out of the corner of my eye. "You alright, Bum?" He asked, clapping me on the back of my neck. My world went black. _Ouch. Pressure point._

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He collapsed. Bumlets collapsed! My friend for many years collapsed when I patted him on the neck, leaving me feeling very guilty, watching him fall into the dirt. I stood there, shocked, with my mouth open. Finally, I got my voice.

"BUMLETS" I yelled, mainly from the aftershock, dropping to my knees next to him, and I turned his head so I could look at his face as everyone else came running up. I grimaced. He wasn't hurt, but he looked like he'd had a rough time. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his face was pale and cold to the touch. That worried me. I looked up at the Manhattan newsies who had surrounded the two of us, my face conveying my worry. They were whispering between themselves in worry about him. "Somebody find Healer." I asked, and the muttering quietened. I nearly panicked. "What? Don't tell me ya don't know where she is." I said, trying to keep the note of desperation out of my voice and failing miserably. I looked around at everyone, and finally, my eyes settled on Boots, who seemed to be fidgeting nervously. "Do ya know where she is, Boots?" Boots glanced up at me nervously, shuffling his feet, and tried to speak.

"She-she-…no one's seen her since yesterday mornin'." Boots looked at his friend on the ground sadly. Bumlets looked so…wasted. Not himself. "He didn't sleep all night…" I looked up at him from where I was kneeling next to Bumlets, and then I looked down at Bumlets again. I put his head down on its side again.

"Well no wonder he looks so bad then, if Healah's missin'." I said. "I know 'e loves 'er." My face darkened, and I looked up at the newsies around me. "We need ta find 'er." I stood up. "If her going missin' has already affected him this badly, imagine what that'll do to us in the long run." Everyone went quiet. Healer meant a lot to everyone there, and it had only been a few months since they first met her. Healer was the one who looked after everybody, made sure they were getting on alright, and she was the one all the young 'uns flocked to when they were in need of a motherly love when theirs weren't around to give them that anymore. She was also the one who taught us all to fight, how to judge our opponent's attacks and defenses, and how to build up our own individual fighting styles. We needed her more than she needed us, in more ways than one. If she was gone, never to be found again…well, that was something they didn't like to think about.

"Well, we need ta get 'im somewhere safe first…" Boots said, gesturing at Bumlets. I nodded, looking down at him, and I felt a rush of felling for him. I knew what he felt like. I remembered losing my mother. The worst time of my life. Bumlets' forehead was creased in worry, and he felt clammy, like he was sick. It didn't seem to be so good for him, and he was like this because he worried about Healer. I smiled wryly. _What a girl can do to a guy, eh?_ I thought, but then, as I watched him, I watched his face start to relax. _What? What's happening? _I thought in confusion. I stumbled away from him in amazement when he slowly started to glow. I looked around at everyone else, and I noticed that only Boots was noticing what was happening as well, and he held his head at an angle, and copying him, I realized that that was the only real way I could see it.

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_Bumlets._ I woke up in my cell- for I now realized that was what it was- and I felt something was wrong. Something was wrong with Bumlets. _Bumlets is down…_ I listened, and I worried. I was kept in this room and wasn't allowed out, so I couldn't sell, and so I slept in. _Bumlets._ I worried, and I felt a panic start to rise up in me. Bumlets was very close to my heart, and he was down. I jumped up and rushed over to the window, sticking my head out and looking towards Manhattan anxiously. I couldn't get out, so I dropped down to the floor again, and I looked around the room, and saw a dark corner with straw in it. I walked over there, sitting myself down comfortably, trying to focus. I worried, and I tried getting into a meditative trance, but my worry kept stopping me, so I took some deep, long, calming breaths, and I sent my worry through the stone walls and through to the water around me, feeling it all wash away. I was calm and centered, and so I closed my eyes and tried again.

_Bumlets_. I soared through the air, over the Brooklyn Bridge and over to Manhattan, the time of passage hardly even happening. _Bumlets._ I saw him, in front of the distribution office, lying out cold on the ground, surrounded by the rest of the newsies I knew and loved. Jack was sitting on his ass a foot or two away from him, looking surprised- or shocked might have been a better word, but I focused on the one closest to my heart.

_Bumlets._ I wanted to cry. He looked so vulnerable, lying there, and I went and sat down next to him, a few tears making tracks down my face. He was so pale! He looked weak and sweaty, and he had dark circles under his eyes. He didn't look anything like the boy I was used to dancing with. I felt so sad and so depressed for doing this to him. All because of a kiss. I felt terrible. _Why didn't I know he wouldn't love me?_ I thought, feeling myself sink, and I quickly opposed it. I shed off the negative thoughts as a darkness, and I became pure, glowing white. I sat next to him, and I just loved him. I let my love for him come out in a passionate surge, as a red energy, and I let that energy surround him, healing him. I lay down beside him and held him tenderly, a few of my tears falling on his cheek.

'_Bumlets…_' I whispered, all choked up in sorrow. I closed my eyes and a tear squeezed out, falling onto his cheek with a splat, and I held him tighter, and breathed. With every breath I took, I imagined him getting better. I saw him in my mind as healing, the dark circles under his eyes fading away as his much needed sleep was restored, his body warming and returning to normal, and his body strengthened and reassured. I took one last breath, and I opened my eyes to see him opening his. He had no life in his eyes. Until he saw me, when a fire of hope flared up in his eyes, and he looked at me longingly, trying to convey with his face what he couldn't with his mouth.

My breath caught in my chest as I saw him looking at me with love in his eyes. _He-he…he loves me!_ I realized, and I smiled at him in return. Without thinking much about it, I pressed a deep kiss to his mouth, crying for joy. _I love you._

Hands shook me roughly, and I felt myself picked up and thrown across the floor. _Brooklyn._ I screamed in my mind, trying to project the word to my friends as my physical eyes opened just as I was in mid-flight.

On an instinct, I flipped myself, and I glared at my enemy. Spot grinned mockingly at me, a darkness in his eyes. He wasn't very happy when I refused to teach him how to fight yesterday, which I believed was something only my closest friends should learn from me. I scowled when I saw who it was. Spot laughed.

"What?" he said. "Crying? From a big girl like you?" I frowned for a moment, and I shot my hand to check my face. Wet. So I really was crying…I allowed myself to hope. Maybe, just maybe…those tears I cried really did fall on my love's cheek. I smiled slightly, feeling love swell up in me from someplace deep inside me. I was stronger now than I ever had been before. I loved him and he loved me.

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**A/N: **Awww... _'Love lifts us up where we belong...' -Moulin Rouge_


	13. Searching

**A/N:** I don't own the movie. Enjoy!

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**Jack's POV**

I looked at Bumlets in amazement from my place on the ground as he seemed to glow, and then I noticed a sound. If I strained my ears in a certain way, I felt as if I could hear it, and looking away from Bumlets, I noticed the sound disappeared. I looked inwards, focusing on just hearing, and I strained. It sounded like a- a gentle humming. A very soothing sound, like when a mother holds her baby to her chest and hums to get them to sleep.

_Bumlets._ I jumped in surprise, opening my eyes, startled, looking up. I heard that clearer than anything else. I scanned the crowd. That was Healer's voice. Where was she? Something pulled me to look over at Brooklyn, but I shook the feeling off. Ridiculous. _Bumlets._ I jumped. There it was again. I accidentally crossed my eyes when I jumped, and that's when I noticed an almost see-through image. I uncrossed my eyes and focused on it in front of me. Surprisingly, it didn't disappear, and more newsies were gradually noticing what was happening now. I squinted, and I noticed that the sheen had the look of Healer, and when she turned to look at me, I knew it was her, only not fully here, I gaped at her in surprise, but she had only eyes for Bumlets. She looked like she was going to cry- no she _was_ crying, and I'm sure it was because of the state Bumlets was in.

She sat next to Bumlets, looking at him and crying, stroking his cheek, not even noticing we were there. She looked at him, with his closed eyes, pale, clammy face, how weak he looked, and she looked at him with only a tender love in her eyes. Then she lay down beside him, holding him close to her in her arms- and he healed. It amazed me, watching this. Her tears were falling freely, and she glowed, a white with a pinkish tint- and somehow I knew that the color was showing her love for him- and Bumlets seemed to recover. He seemed to be more at peace when she held him, and she cradled his head and rested his chin on her shoulder, loving him. His face lost its paleness, the circles under his eyes started to slowly disappear, and his strength started to return.

I sat there, watching amazedly, my legs crossed, and leaning forward. This was a spectacular sight, and I no longer had to cross my eyes. I gaped when I saw Bumlets' eyes open slowly, and I didn't see any life in them until he saw her- and he was struck speechless- so he tried to convey with his eyes what he couldn't with words, and I saw love in his eyes. Healer glowed a happy, pinkish, reddish yellow, and before I knew what was happening, she kissed him. I raised my eyebrows in laughter as she kissed him very deeply and passionately, and Bumlets closed his eyes right away- but I had no voice to crow with. This was too…pure.

She vanished. Just like that. Bumlets winced hard, and I could nearly feel what he was feeling. A tug like my heart was being cruelly pulled out of my chest. It felt like she was trying to hold on but was forced away. It shocked us all, I think. I looked at Bumlets, who had his eyes shut tight, and he was breathing slightly raggedly, but he soon calmed himself, and he regretfully pushed himself up. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he didn't want to believe that it was real. To have her so close, to be kissed like that, and to have it all taken away faster than a second. He looked at me, and then sighed, looking at the ground, shaking his head. He put his hand to his cheek- and froze. He pulled his hand away and looked at it. It was wet. Wet with Healer's tears. She had been crying, and the tears were real.

Bumlets' face strengthened. He knew it was real now, and he looked up at me with a hot, fierce steel in his eyes. I nearly flinched. _Wow. Don't want ta get in his way when 'e's angry…_

"She's in Brooklyn." Bumlets said, standing up and looking in that direction, his whole body tensed, as if he wanted to bolt right then and there. He growled. "- taken against her will. Yesterday mornin'." He turned his glare on me, not being able to soften it in his anger. "We have ta get her back."

I blinked, frozen temporarily, and I nodded after a short pause and stood up from where I was still reclining on the ground. I looked around at the crowd around the two of us, and looked back at him, nothing but seriousness in my eyes.

"We'll find out where she was taken, how she was taken, and follow the trail from there. We'll do that tonight."

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**A/N: **So the hunt begins....R&R everyone!


	14. Fighting Lesson

**A/N:** I don't own the movie.

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Weeks passed. The boys never stopped trying to find Healer, but the newsies who had taken her had covered their tracks so well that it was hard to tell where they had gone. Bumlets never stopped worrying about her though, and Healer never stopped sending her love to him after she was pulled away from him that first time. Every night, as Bumlets lay in his bed, he could feel her love pressing from a long way away to reach him, and he always sent his love in return.

When they slept, the two of them dreamed that they were sleeping in each other's arms, exchanging sweet kisses all through the night, telling each other how much they loved each other. Or they dreamed they were dancing together, dancing the routine they were learning. They never stopped thinking of each other.

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Spot glared at me in concentration as he moved his body in the ways I had shown him. It had been around a month since I had been in here, and I had finally caved earlier today, craving the open air- after I had him backed up into a cage of promises he could not break out of even on his death bed- promises that were very close to his heart. Or as close as I could get them to his heart. I had made a deal with him. I shook my head at his attempt. Too off balance.

"Wrong." I said getting up from the desk I was sitting on. I walked over to him. "You're off balance." Spot dropped his arms and rolled his eyes angrily, opening his mouth. "Arms up." Spot looked at me strangely, but did as he was told and put his arms back where they had been. I advanced on him, putting him on the alert. "What could you do if I attacked you like this?" I asked him, slowly showing some of my abilities, knocking Spot's arm back, kneeing him in the stomach softly, and then planting my foot on his stomach, pushing him backwards. He stumbled and fell to the floor. He glared at me. I always won. "You need to keep openings for an attack to a minimum, keep your balancing stable, an eye on your opponent, and you need to be original." My last comment got a slightly raised eyebrow from him, and I could nearly see the cogs in his head turning. I held out a hand, and helped him up. I looked at him. "Think."

I lifted a leg and threw a side kick at him, not really caring whether it connected or not, and Spot's eyes widened, and he reacted, grabbing my leg and twisting around. I raised an eyebrow in slight surprise as I hopped awkwardly around him. _That was original._ I used his grip on my leg against him when I put all my weight on that leg and jumped up onto his shoulder, forcing him down to the ground, him landing on his back, and my butt landing on his chest. He looked up at me in astonishment from between my knees. I smiled slightly at him.

"Better." I said as I got off him, giving him a hand again. He looked at me, surprised. I had never given him even a hint of approval before. I nodded at him. "Original. Keep it up." I said as I turned away from him, heading for the desk and unwrapping my hands of the thin, protective scarves I wore when teaching. "That's enough for today. You'll learn more tomorrow." I folded up the scarves and put them away on the desk, and I looked up distantly, grounding and centering after the lesson. I felt Spot's curiosity behind me, and he snuck up behind me in a way that he thought was quietly.

I waited patiently, seeing what he would do. He cautiously laced his fingers together and raised them over my head. I smiled, and slowly started to laugh. Spot froze in confusion, his interlaced hands stupidly extended over my head.

"Spot." I laughed, shaking my head, turning to look at him. He dropped his hands quickly, unashamed. "If I had been _any_one else…" I paused to think it over, smiling, and I looked back at him. He was improving. "That could've worked-" Spot glowed, sticking his chest out a little in pride. "-but what if they bit or licked your hand?" Spot deflated, and grimaced at the thought of a tongue on his hand. "Now think, what could you do if they did? What would be your first reaction?" Spot thought, and lifted his arms, putting them back into the same position he had before, his eyes distant.

"They licked my hand..." He said aloud, and I watched him as he broke his hands apart, went for the shoulders of an imaginary person, pulled on the right shoulder and pushed the left. The imaginary person spun around to face Spot, and then charged, crashing against Spot without him noticing anything, disintegrating into a thousand white sparkles. I shook myself out of my trance. I had been inside for too long. Spot's imaginary person had taken the shape of Bumlets in my eyes.

I pushed myself off the desk I had been leaning against, trying not to cast my tired eyes to the floor. They truly were treating me like a prisoner here. They forgot to feed me sometimes, so I was starting to grow pitifully thin, only my muscle keeping me the same shape as before. Sleeping on a stone floor didn't do me much good either. I had bruises from where I had rolled into the stonewalls at times, and my eyes had dark bags under them from a lack of comfortable sleep for a month and half. I was getting weaker, and only the shadows of this room kept Spot from seeing that clearly. If it came to a real fight, I doubted I could save myself anymore. I looked up at Spot, who dropped his and looked at me waiting. I couldn't be in the cell any longer.

"We need to find you a new opponent." Spot nodded, turning for the door. "-and a new place to fight." I raised my voice slightly to keep his attention as he had turned away, and he stopped, halfway to the door, and he looked at me. I was half-hidden in shadow, but he saw I meant what I said. He thought for a moment, and nodded to himself, half-hidden in darkness as well.

"On the docks." I lifted my head higher. The docks where upstairs, and in the light and the fresh air. The docks were also the most crowded. Being there was going to have it disadvantages, which was why I was sure he had chosen it for that purpose. There was no escape for me, in my weakened state, though there was no way that he could know that. I bowed my head slightly, and I hoped he would take that as a nod, instead as a sign of surrender.

"On the docks." I agreed, and I followed him, where he tied my hands behind my back before letting me out, to guarantee that I couldn't escape. I tried not to sigh as we headed up through the darkness towards the light. _It's hopeless. I can't get out…_ I thought to myself, and for the first and only time in my life- I felt hopeless, and I gave up.

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**A/N: **I hope you enjoyed this, and I thought I'd let you know that I'm running out of chapters that I've already written, so I'm just warning you that the updates might start getting a little slower as I write then post them. Well, R&R everyone! You know the drill.


	15. Found

**A/N: **I don't own the movie. Enjoy! This is the last chapter I have pre-written, so I'm just warning you that the next update may take awhile.

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It had been so long since I had last seen her face. Months, it felt like, and selling papes on my street corner didn't have the same…feeling as it had before. Before, it had been fun; effortless…now… it was a drag, and all I could think about was her. _She's in Brooklyn._ I thought, looking over in the direction of the bridge, swiping my black hair out of my face and tucking it behind my ear. My brown eyes smoldered with anger as I thought about it. _ I know she is. I don't know what they've done to her…_ It was getting on towards midday, and I couldn't stop glaring in the direction of Brooklyn. People bought my papes, and even gave me tips because they were afraid of me, and for once, I didn't care.

I took a nickel from a guy and gave him his pape, leaving me with only one left to sell, and I glared over at Brooklyn, once again. I hated not being able to do anything. A newsie can't just invade another turf and take back what was theirs…_Or can I?_ I thought, struck dumb by this revelation. You can't steal from someone else's turf because that was just plain against the law…but there was nothing against taking it back…

I set my face determinedly. _I'm getting her back. Even if it's the last thing I do._ I glanced over at Boots, where he was selling across the street and on the other corner of the block, and he met my gaze, tensing up when he saw the look on my face. He knew I was up to something. I sold my last pape to a woman who was in a hurry, and I smiled at her nicely. She shot me a quick smile in return before hurrying on, and I set my eyes on the Brooklyn Bridge. I glanced both ways before crossing the street, and I strode with a purpose down the street. The crowd parted for me, as they saw the determined look on my face, knowing that I wouldn't move, and it was so when I stopped at Boot's side, glaring over at the bridge. I looked down at Boots with fire in my eyes, and he caught his breath in surprise. I tired to soften my gaze, but I couldn't.

"I'm goin' ta Brooklyn. Ya comin'?" I asked, and he just looked up at me in amazement, his mouth slightly open in surprise. "No? Well, tell Jack that's where I've gone." I said, and without a second look, I turned on my heel, and walked as fast as I could towards Brooklyn.

Boots watched as his friend Bumlets disappeared into the crowd, his face showing amazement as he looked after him, his papes still draped over his arms.

"Hey kid. You goin' ta sell me a pape, or what?"

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Spot brought her into the sunlight, and Healer cursed under her breath, squeezing her eyes shut. The light of the midday sun was blindingly white, and she stopped right where she was, trying to adjust her eyes before Spot pushed her forward again. The dock fell silent, all activity ceased, and the air felt still, as if everyone had caught their breaths at the sight of her. As if they couldn't believe what they saw.

I tried to open my eyes, and the pain of the light on my eyelids was almost too much to bear, but soon I felt them adjust, and I could crack them open. Every newsie on the dock had frozen, and each and every one of them was looking at me, with an expression telling me that they didn't expect what they saw. Expressions of respect. I was known for being strong, a warrior, almost a legendary figure since I started hanging out with the Manhattan newsboys. I was known for being a beauty, and though I felt complimented by the rumor, I didn't set much stock in it. _How could a woman known for fighting be beautiful?_ I bowed my head. Now, I was anything but that.

Spot pushed me forward, and I stumbled, before catching myself, and the crowd before me parted with an awe I felt I didn't deserve. He took me to the middle of the dock, and then tied his end of the rope that had me bound to one of the projecting legs of the dock, forcing me to stand upright, and I looked up defiantly, one last flare of rebelliousness making itself known in my heart. I wasn't going to be seen as a weakling, even though my body was pulling me into a place of weakness where I wasn't sure what would happen. Spot finished tying the knots, and turned towards his followers, his arms spread wide. All the newsies' attention was then reluctantly turned to him. He really seemed to be in his element here.

"I brought this girl-" Spot lowered one hand slightly to indicate me, and everyone glanced at me before returning their attention to their leader. "-up here so she could teach me how to fight." Spot paused, as if waiting for something, and all his newsies just looked at him, unenthusiastic, and he frowned, as if he was expected a cheer that didn't come. He lowered his arms to his sides, and scanned the crowd critically. "I need someone to fight." He stated, and the crowd shifted uneasily. I rolled my eyes but kept quiet. I couldn't risk a fight. "One of you." He said, and the crew of newsies stilled. So he did mean them. They knew he wanted one of them to volunteer, but they were hesitant. I had been training him, so he must be so much better than he had been before. Spot scanned the crowd, and his eyes settled on someone. He raised his arm and pointed dramatically. "You."

I looked up, wondering who he had chosen, and the crowd parted before him to reveal a boy who appeared to be about an equal match for Spot, being about the same size and frame. The only difference I could see between them was that the newsie that Spot had chosen appeared to be older than him. I took note of that, filing it away for later use, and gave the kid one possible advantage over Spot: more experienced. Spot beckoned at the newsie, and the kid glance around to check if he really meant him. Everyone was looking at him, and so he looked back at Spot with one eyebrow raised in question. Spot rolled his eyes, his arm still up and pointing.

"Yeah, you Panther. Now come forward." As the newsie- now assured of his place- confidently moved forward, I looked up towards the sky and the Brooklyn Bridge, my body feeling so heavy, I yearned for a release from this place, closing my eyes as I lifted my face to the sky. I was completely and utterly exhausted, and beyond hungry- and I reminded myself of the promises I made Spot make. The world seemed to fade away around me in a haze of heat.

Spot was waiting on the other side of the room with a bag full of food that I couldn't keep myself from eyeing hungrily. I hadn't eaten for about a day, and I was starving. He was trying every way he knew to get me to teach him how to fight. I straightened myself up, and I glared at him. I knew I had more strength than that. Spot rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly, spreading his arms to either side of him, the bag of food still dangling from his hand. My eyes followed it.

"_Fightah! Jus' teach me 'ow ta fight, and you can eat. Honestly! It's quite simple. Food for lessons." Spot looked at me with a calculating gaze. "I'm sure your __friends__ could save themselves…" I looked at Spot's face for the first time since he had entered with the food. My friends…I knew of a better deal to make._

"_If my friends come…" I paused. My voice was so quiet; I hadn't used it in awhile. I cleared my throat and looked Spot in the eye, and spoke clearly. "If my friends come for me…you will let me go…if I teach you to fight." Spot's face lit up in relief, glad that I finally seemed to be coming to my senses._

"_Yes! Yes! If they come, they can take you home…" He agreed, eagerly waving his arms around excitedly. I studied his face, and I could see that he wasn't really thinking. Just talking. I walked out of the shadows towards him, staring down at him intimidatingly, and he froze. It didn't take much to make him do so. My heart was sinking, and I felt like crying at the possibility of never seeing…him again…his lovely brown eyes and his amazing face and his silky black hair…his wonderful smile and how he loved me so purely, the way he held me in his arms…and how I felt like I'd never have to fight again when I was with him…but I had to make sure I could leave when he came for me._

_I glared down at Spot, not letting any sign of weakness show in my face, and Spot instinctively shrank away from me, folding in on himself, keeping his eyes on my face even as he was backing up. I advanced on him, raising my fists threateningly._

"_Mean it." I said, casting my voice low to give it a threatening edge, and Spot noticed that he was cringing when he flinched, and tried to push his shoulders back, but he was fighting his instincts. "Mean it, or I will find what makes you weak, and I will use it…" I let what I said trail off, to leave him paranoid, and judging from his eyes, it was working. I made myself look as big as I could without looking stupid, and I glared down at him, cornered against the side of the door. "Say it. Mean it, and I will not hurt you." I promised. "I will teach you, and in return, when-" I stuttered. I was going to say 'he'. Without a pause, I moved on. "-they come for me, you will let me leave." I stared Spot down, and he looked irritated that he couldn't seem to find a loophole, and he agreed reluctantly, nodding. I saw his eyes light up slowly, and I knew what he was thinking. I was tempted to sigh and shake my head. No wonder this idiot needed me to teach him to fight. He was terrible. I looked sternly into his eyes, not blinking, completely serious. "Without a fight." Spot looked outraged. _

"_You think I'm going to-!" I cut him off._

"_I could hurt you in so many ways." I reminded, and he stopped short, processing that. He started coming to the realization that that he had the worse end of the deal. I shook my head and let my shoulders drop in wonder. This kid was so slow. I sighed. "Treat me how you like-" His eyes flashed, and I nearly regretted saying that. "-but you will _not _hurt my friends when they come for me." Spot thought about it, and slowly started to nod. I looked at his eyes, and I saw that he meant it this time. "Deal?" Spot looked at me square-on. He spat on his hand and held it out. _

"_Deal." I didn't smile, but I did the same as he did and shook his hand with a crushing grip. When I loosened my grip, he didn't let go, and I looked at him. "Remember, this is _my_ domain. My territory. If you try to run away, you will regret it. I looked at his eyes, and I saw he was serious._

The memory brought me pain now. We had made the deal two weeks ago, and often they hadn't bothered to bring me food or give me a half-decent place to sleep, so I was weak, and I was at a dis-advantage. Even the weakest Brooklyn newsie could take me on now. All of them knew about the deal Spot and I had made, and Spot had given orders for everyone to either take the Manhattan newsies to where I was if he wasn't around, or to go get him. No one expected them to come though, and I never lost faith, though now, I was left just a faint hope that they would come. It wasn't the first time I had thought that I might just waste away here.

I missed him. So much, and my heart ached when I thought of him. _Beautiful Bumlets…_ I sighed and I let myself to just think about him, my eyes closed against the sun. How I wanted to be held in his arms one last time…a surge of powerful emotion pushed against my heart, and I felt a tear spring up to my eye. God, I missed him.

_Open your eyes._ I frowned, confused. That wasn't me. Or was I just imagining his voice? _Please, open your eyes. _ I heard him beg, and I looked down to get the sun out of my eyes to open them, and a wave of head rush hit me, making me press my back against the pole behind me for support. _Healer!_ I opened my eyes, and I tried to carefully look around without anyone noticing. I heard him sigh in relief. _ Look up. I'm on the Bridge._ I turned my head around, looking at the Brooklyn bridge that wasn't that far away, and my eyes instantly found him. He was pressing himself against the side of the bridge, everything about him was screaming that he wanted to be where I was, and I started to shake, I was glad to see him, healthy as ever, his black hair tucked back under his hat, his brown eyes lit with a fire of longing. I turned to face him, almost unaware that I had, my hands still tied behind my back. My love. He came for me.

Bumlets.

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**A/N:** Was that a good chapter? I hope so. Please R&R and give me some constructive feedback. Btw, apparently I've reached my 15 chapter limit. What does that mean?


	16. Boots

(_Disclaimer:_ I don't own a thing other than what I've created.)

**A/N:** Sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. I had school getting in the way, and I just didn't know how to deal with this until now. I hope this makes up for it. R&R

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As soon as I had sold my last paper, I was running to where I knew Jack Kelly would be selling his usual hundred today. To people walking more sedately on the sidewalk, I was nothing but a brown-colored streak in the corner of their eyes. Of course, no one ran on the sidewalk. If you ran faster than the carriage-horses did, then you ran on the road. Which was what I was doing now.

At this time of day, Cowboy could be anywhere between the distribution office and Central Park, so I needed help. I asked any newsie I spotted on the way if they had seen Jack Kelly, and they said, 'yea, he just went that way.' They all had to finish selling their papers, but they all knew not to try and keep up with me as I ran- for that was how I earned my name- from all the pairs of boots I had worn out from running in. The wind was cool against my face, cooling me off with the help of the sweat that was starting to come up on my forehead. A familiar cowboy hat caught my attention just ahead, and I knew I found who I was looking for. Jack was standing by one of the trees next to the pavement in Central Park, selling his papers like he normally did, and it was only because I knew him better than the others that I noticed that he was sad. He was missing Healer too, and he was sad he couldn't do anything about it. Well, I had something to tell him about that, though I was already very out of breath.

"Cow-!" I shouted, only just managing to get out the first syllable as I skidded to a stop in front of him, but Jack looked up even at the sound of the first syllable of his nickname- already alert. His eyes settled on me, doubled over and trying to catch my breath. "Cow-boy…" I panted, gasping for air. Jack patted me on the shoulder and pushed me gently. I looked up and saw care in his eyes.

"Sit down. Catch your breath. You can tell me when you have it." He didn't ask. He never did. He always somehow managed to command nicely. So I did what he said. I sat down and clutched at the searing hot pain in my chest that was caused by my lungs working overtime. Kelly sold his papes in the way he normally did, by flirting with the ladies, and gradually, he had only five papes left. Bum and I had sold them faster before. My breathing was back to normal, and I stood. Jack glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, and saw how seriously I was looking at him, so when he sold his paper, he turned to look at me, waiting.

"Bumlets' gone ta Brooklyn." Kelly's eyes widened, and I could tell what he was thinking. _Shit._

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Brooklyn was a dangerous place. Very dangerous, with gangs roaming about, the crime rate very high, and Spot Colon. Yeah, Spot was one of the dangers of Brooklyn that you had to look out for around these parts, for he was the boss of the district, the 'big cheese' of part of 'the big apple'. And he was the king of Brooklyn. No one else had ruled it as successfully as he did, and now, as he finished his match on the docks, he noticed that his mentor's eyes were not on him.

I motioned for the fighting to stop, my eyes focusing on Fighter, who no longer appeared to be so strong- her eyes transfixed on a spot way above her head, and I walked slowly over to her, noticing that she was shaking, but I was more determined to find what she was looking at, and I found it. I found him- right away. It was one of the Manhattan newsies. I think his name was Bumlets- and he was looking at Fighter with a ravenous hunger in his eyes, like he had been too long without her. _Huh._ I smiled wryly. _Her boyfriend, or her guard dog?_ I glanced at Fighter's face and saw that she was looking at him the same way, except for the fact her eyes were fading. My instincts told me she was going to keel over, and so my instincts made me grab onto her, to keep her from falling into the water- and I was just in time. She doubled over in my arms, and almost as soon as she did, a roar of fury echoed from the bridge.

"**LET GO O' 'ER!"** _Let go of her, let go of her…_ I thought annoyed as the sound annoyingly reverberated across the river. I hated it when people yelled from the Brooklyn Bridge. It had such an annoying echo. I looked coldly up at him just as two other newsies ran up to him, one of them a small black kid, and the other the Manhattan leader- Jack 'Cowboy' Kelly. The kid's angry glare was a match for my frostbitten one, and wordlessly, I beckoned for him to come down before carrying Fighter to the middle of dock so she was in no danger of falling off.

I crouched to lay her down, and I wasn't worried that she was light. Why should I be? She wasn't one of mine. I looked up at my newsies, and they all took one, small step back.

"Bring them to me." I ordered, and a couple of the smaller, lighter newsies took off running. Just because they were small didn't mean they couldn't fight. I looked down at Fighter, and I would've sighed, but I just didn't have the emotion to. I had lost that when my mother died. Kelly was someone I knew, but he would never have let her go. "It's time to let my mentor go back where she came from." My newsies nodded, and backed away, as I stood up to greet the three Manhattan newsies steadily approaching through the crowd- one furious, one calm and one terrified. _All young ones should be scared. Only the toughest live here._ I thought as I looked at the young black boy, shivering even in the middle of summer.

I turned my gaze to Jack Kelly, and he returned my calm gaze the same way. We had both run away from home around the same time, and we had fought together a few times, but we had never really been friends, thought we respected each other's leadership. Finally, I looked at the guard dog, fuming like a volcano about to erupt. I smiled with my eyes. If the fire in his eyes was any explanation, he was definitely her boyfriend. I turned my eyes back to Kelly as he took the lead.

"Why'd you take her Spot." I wasn't even a question, but I saw in his eyes that he demanded an answer, even if he wasn't in his own territory. I looked at him.

"I needed her." I turned to look at the bulldog. "- and I got what I wanted." The fire in his eyes was fueled by what I said, and he balled his fists, tensing his arms, but did nothing, even though Kelly put an arm out just in case. I looked back at Kelly and saw there was a fire he was trying to hide in his eyes now as well.

"What'd ya get Spot?" Everyone was tensed now, and I smiled, but it didn't reach my eyes. How strange that people could get riled so easily.

"She taught me to fight." The atmosphere froze. The three Manhattan newsies were confused, trying to work out how her teaching me how to fight left her looking like that. I looked down at her, then glanced back up at them, holding their gaze. "Ever wonder why she was gone so long?" I chuckled without emotion, looking back down at her. "She's very stubborn, your Fighter-"

"Her name's _**Healer**__._" The bulldog growled. I continued as if he had never spoken.

"-So, naturally- we had to find a way of making her give up." I looked back up at them. Bulldog was just managing to restrain himself, Mouse was trembling and finding the planks of the dock very interesting, and Jack looked at me calmly with a small fire in his eyes. I could see why he was a leader. Hell, I remembered why. I almost sighed. "I almost regret what we had to do to get it out of her-"

"_**You**_ didn't _have_ to _do __**anything!**_" I was tempted to roll my eyes. Bulldog was getting rather annoying. A breeze off the river blew on my face, cooling me off from the summer's heat considerably, enough for me to relax. I let a moment draw itself out, enjoying the feel of the air and sound of the water, the solid reassurance of the sturdy planks of wood under my feet, and then I realized what I was doing.

"Draw up the world around you Spot." Healer told me as I sat cross-legged in the cell. "Let your body rest, your senses observe and absorb what is going on around you. Pull it into your center and feel it's strength. This will bring you a peace of mind and let you think clearly when you need it most. This is called a 'Power Draw', or meditating." I opened my eyes skeptically and looked up at her where she was standing behind me. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "That's what it's called, kid. Don't ask me why they named it that."

I opened my eyes, and I felt remarkably calm…clean…and refreshed. It felt like I had fallen asleep for a while. I felt good. _Wow._ I thought and looked down at her with a new respect. _I guess she was right…_ I looked up at the Manhattan newsies with a new outlook. _Having her gone must've been really hard on them…_ I felt a tug on my heart that I hadn't felt in a long time, and looked down slightly, amazed at myself. _Wow. _I looked down at Fight-… Healer with a new respect. I felt guilty for the first time in years, and I realized I never really knew what she was doing to me. By teaching me to fight, she was healing me. I was amazed.

"You were right…" I whispered into the wind in awe, respect written plainly on my face, only visible to those in front of me, which by now meant only the Manhattan newsies, and I felt they deserved to know by now- what I was feeling.

"Spot?" Jack pulled my eyes up to him with his question, and I saw the curious look in his eyes. I glanced at the others on either side of him, Mouse had stopped shivering by now, and Bulldog had calmed down a bit, though he still had a faint fiery anger in his eyes. I looked at him for a few seconds. _He loves her._ I thought, seeing how he was acting around her. He obviously wanted to get to her, to hold her and carry her home, but he was restraining himself- keeping himself from committing something socially unacceptable- even if we were the lowest of the low in New York. He had shiny black hair that swung down around his face, and he was muscular, seemingly even more so because every muscle in his body was tensed. His skin was a tanning white, and his eyes were brown and spoke of power.

I backed away from them, leaving Healer lying on the docks, backing off like animals would when they surrendered. I looked at them as equals. I understood why they loved her so much now. I looked at Bulldog, and caught his eye. He looked back at me with mistrust in his eyes, though I felt nothing but sincerity in mine.

"Take her home." I told him, and he looked surprised that I was giving her up so easily, but still mistrust shone in his eyes. "I made a deal with her to let you take her home when you came…" His face relaxed in understanding, and I met Jack's emotionless gaze, and I looked and saw Mouse's hat. I looked back at the bulldog- and for the first time in years- I smiled slightly so it shone in my eyes. "-besides. She loves you boy." I smiled at him, and he smiled warily in return. I turned to look at my newsies and looked at them with a certain look in my eyes. "Let's go swimmin'." Every Brooklyn newsie's face lit up when they heard that, and with a yell and air punching from some, we all turned and ran towards the end of the dock, diving off in rapid succession like dolphins. To the Brooklyn newsies only, 'swimming' not only meant having fun in the water, but it also meant pillaging. We didn't have the money to buy good food, so we stole it from underwater- though we didn't do this too often, so we wouldn't get caught. All the fancy restaurants in this city stored their fancy food- like lobsters- underwater, which made them easier to take. Call us foxes.

Before I dived off the dock, I managed to glance over my shoulder, and I saw just a glimpse of Bulldog's face. The expression he wore was of tender love, care, and worry for her as he slipped his arms carefully under her to lift her up. He seemed surprised, as if she was lighter than she had been before, and I saw him lift his head to glare in my direction, and surprisingly enough, I felt a twinge in my chest, resulting in my throwing myself into the water as a belly flop. _Ouch._ I was going to have to get rid of that harmful emotion.

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**A/N:** Hm...poor Spot?


	17. Wake up 'cause I love you

(_Disclaimer:_ I don't own a thing, other than what I created)

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My dark hair swung over my face as I knelt down by her side. I couldn't believe they had done this to her- there was barely anything left to her. Worry creased my face, but my hair hanging down masked it. It had been so long since I had last seen her, since I had last held her. I loved her. We were both sixteen, we were both old enough to really know what love really was. I gently slid my hands under her, and I scooped her up and to my chest. I couldn't believe it when she fell limp against me, and I felt her ribs, and that, combined with her extreme lightness sparked a bit of fear in my heart, so I had to put my ear to her chest in a rush of panic.

**Thump. Thump…thump. Thump.** I breathed a sigh of relief, although I was still worried. She had a heartbeat, but her breathing was faint. I got to my feet and glared at Spot just before he dived off the dock and I heard him belly flop. I smiled grimly to myself. _Serves him right._

All thoughts of grim revenge gone, I turned on my heel and walked as fast as I could without jolting Healer. I was SO worried about her. I didn't know how long she'd be out for, I didn't know if she could eat while like this, I didn't know if she'd be ok. Worry creasing my forehead, I sped up, the scenery blurring to me, for my mind was only on her, and getting her to safety. _Healer…Healer…__**healer…**_ for the first time since becoming a newsie, I wanted to cry. _Healer…_ I didn't know if she was going to be ok.

The newsboys' lodging house loomed up before me, and with hardly even noticing the little ones hanging around outside the door, I sped through the door, carefully maneuvering her so she wouldn't get hurt. My throat felt very tight, with a pressure behind my eyes, and I knew I was going to cry. I knew I had to get her upstairs before that happened. I heard- registering in the back of my mind- Jack and Boot's feet thudding through the door, where everyone down there turned to look at them as they stopped to catch their breath.

"_What's going on?"_

"_Was that Healer?"_

"_What's wrong with her?"_

"_Is she ok?"_

"_Jack?"_

"_**Leave- leave them alone."**_

_Thank you Jack…_ I thought gratefully as I thudded up the last of the stairs, overhearing them down there- my eyes already blurring as I reached the top of the stairs, where I stopped to stand, my tears finally overflowing, and my breath shuddering.

"He-healer…" I choked out, my face wet, I held her close to me, burying my head in her limp neck. "Healer…Healer…" I cried, my heart in pain from the thought of losing her, shaking.

It was absolutely silent up here, and I had been standing at the top of the stairs the whole time, being unable to move for being unable to see. "H-Healer…" There was a moment of silence, when I realized that someone was up here. I looked up, tears in my eyes, still unable to see, but I looked in the direction I thought he was.

"Bumlets…" a voice whispered respectfully in the half-darkness. I tried to blink the salt of tears out of my eyes, but the dimness of the room wasn't really helping. It was late. **Clunk, clunk**. It was Crutchy. I would recognize the sound of his crutch anywhere. I took in a shaking breath I hadn't known I was holding.

"Crutchy." I greeted him shakily as he painfully moved towards me. He made a noise to show that he had heard me, soft and gentle.

"Is she ok?" He asked gently when he came up to me. I shook my head, unable to speak, the tears in my eyes starting to build again. He looked up at me from where he had been looking carefully at her face. Healer had taught him a few things about helping people before she had been taken, like checking a person's vitals, recognizing symptoms and what you could do for the more basic illnesses and injuries of a person. He let a moment draw itself out as he tucked his lips in as he thought, his eyes looking down again. He looked up at me.

"You should put her down. Sit down yourself as well." He mentioned like an afterthought, and he put one light hand on my arm after turning to lead a teary-eyed me to where I slept. He sat on the bunk across from mine, and gestured to the bottom bunk. "Lay her out." I obeyed, simply doing as I was told, and I bent over the bed, and gently let her fall through my arms to land on the bed below mine. _Healer…_ I had a flashback of when I first fell completely in love with her, when I had put her up in my bed after she saved Boots' and my skins in the park that one day, so long ago it felt, even though it had only been a few months ago at the beginning of summer. I remember how she had fallen out of the bunk when she woke up, and how she had hit the floor on her feet like a cat, surprised like nothing else. Now it was completely different. This time she wasn't asleep.

I looked at her, and I was so scared that I could see her ribs. I took her hand as I backed away to let Crutchy look at her. She had been starved, which was why she was so light. I could see that now. She was probably very weak as well. _She's so pale._ I couldn't help but notice, as I looked at my hand in hers, white against my darkening skin. She had been just as dark as me before…I had her back now, and that was all that mattered.

"Mmm…" Crutchy sighed, and I looked at him, wiping some of the tears out of my eyes with the back of my hand. Crutchy looked very worried. "She needs to eat." He said with a half-hidden urgent tone, I could see the fear he was trying to hide in his blue eyes, and it did nothing to make me feel better. I felt a few more tears push themselves out of my eyes and I wiped them away as I sat on the floor and leaned against the bed.

"Sh-she was s-starved and l-locked inside." I stuttered, whispering because crying had taken my breath away. I looked at her face, rubbing her hand gently with my thumb. My eyes started to flood again. "She-she's so pale. So thin. I can see her ribs…" I choked out. "She- she needs to eat…" I said as I was thinking. I looked up at Crutchy, my eyes streaming. "Is there any food?" Crutchy looked back at me sadly and nodded.

"We have some bangers and mash from Tibby's downstairs. Little Ace couldn't finish his." I nodded, looking over at Healer's beautiful face again. I looked her for a few seconds, thinking.

"Could you-" I turned to look up at Crutchy apologetically. "-could you go get it for me? For Healer?" He looked confused. I explained, "-I'm going to try to feed her."

"Ahh..." his sighed, and nodded, getting up with the help of his crutch, I held my hand up automatically to him from the floor, and he took it to help himself up off the bed, and then he hobbled gingerly over to the stairs. His leg had been feeling a bit sore recently.

"Thanks." I called after him, and he raised his hand without turning around. I turned my head to look at Healer sadly. "Can you wake up?" I whispered to myself. I sat there for a second, looking at her, before getting onto my knees, and looked at her from a more comfortable position. I looked her, my dark hair falling into my eyes.

She was so gaunt. Her face still looked like it was hers, but it was so much thinner than I remembered it. Her hair was limp when before it had been full of life, and there were bags under her eyes, which I only just noticed. I couldn't believe that they had done this to her, and just loved her so much. My stomach twisted, and I closed my eyes as I felt more tears squeezing their way out, I opened them again, and I stroked her face before I leaned down over her and kissed her, even though she was out cold- feather-light on her proud lips, even now.

I looked at her again after I pulled away sadly. _Still not awake…_ _What did I think she was going to do? Wake up like Sleeping Beauty?_ I berated myself silently. _Though she is beautiful when she sleeps…_

I pushed myself up off the floor, and I gently slipped my hands under her head and back and lifted her up before sitting down behind her and settling her on my lap. _Healer…_ In a way, even though she was half-wasted away, it felt so nice to have her back, to feel her solid presence against my chest, and to wrap my arms around her and to know- to _know_ that she was really there, that it wasn't just another dream. I lowered my chin onto her head. _Healer…wake up…_ I looked down at her face and lifted my hand to cup her cheek, and with my thumb, I softly began to stroke it.

"Wake up Healer." I pleaded under my breath, tears starting to spring to my eyes once again. "Please…w-wake up…please…Healer…_please…_" the tears were flowing freely again now, and I hid my face in her neck so I wouldn't be seen. My face was starting to heat up now. "H-healer…"


	18. Wind Beneath My Wings

**A/N:** I don't own this song. It's Bette Midler's and Bette Midler's alone.

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Did you ever know that you're my hero,

and everything I would like to be?

I can fly higher than an eagle,

'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

It might have appeared to go unnoticed,

but I've got it all here in my heart.

I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it.

I would be nothing without you.

Did you ever know that you're my hero?

You're everything I wish I could be.

I could fly higher than an eagle,

'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

Did I ever tell you you're my hero?

You're everything, everything I wish I could be.

Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle,

'cause you are the wind beneath my wings,

'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

(Selection from Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings")

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**A/N:** I thought this would make a wonderful entry for between chapters. It's the relationship between Bumlets and Healer. R&R.


	19. Blacked Out

_(Disclaimer:_ I don't own thing other than my own creations._)_

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Blacking out was so peaceful. _Why hadn't anyone ever told me about this before? I suppose because no one ever needed to._ The last thing I had seen before I blacked out was my love leaning over the bridge towards me, as though he could've gotten to me that way, and by god- I wish he could've. The last thing I was aware of was Spot standing behind me and catching me when I fell, then undoing the ropes that bound me to the pole. The last thing I heard was my love's voice screaming over the river: **"LET GO O' 'ER!"** – and then everything just faded away, and I wasn't aware of anything. Not the ropes, not the bridge, not my hunger or my physical weakness. I was just…in a calm sort of bliss. I suppose being a mother's arms felt like what I felt now. Feeling like nothing could go wrong. That nothing could ever go wrong and that I didn't have to fight anymore. It felt wonderful.

"_Healer…"_ Bumlets? I perked up, suddenly aware of him calling my name. It was still dark in here. _"Please… w-wake up…"_ My love! He was crying! Bumlets! _"please…Healer…_please_…"_ My love! I would if I could! I don't know how to get out of here! Bumlets! Please! Wait!

I looked around me franticly. How could I get out of here? It was still so dark. How could I get out? As if it knew I was looking for it, a dim path slowly started to lighten in front of me, and I looked- I saw Bumlets standing there at the end of the path with his head bowed and his arms extended out, and without even thinking twice about it, I started to run towards him, knowing that he was my way out. "I'm coming Bumlets!" I shouted. Then I ran smack into him, and my eyes opened wide.

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**A/N:** Hey guys, sorry about the incredibly short chappie, but I didn't want to post anything that had to have anything else attached to it just yet, so do me a favor and humor me until I can post the next chapter, which _will_ be longer than this. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die. Please, please, please review. It inspires me to write.


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